Forever in the Form of 15 Years
by Sylviecake231
Summary: Based very loosely on the book 'Dead Time' by Anne Cassidy. When their daughter was 6 months old, Toby and Spencer Cavanaugh dropped her off at Emily's house before skipping town. 15 years later and Alexandra Cavanaugh has yet to hear from them. Will Allie ever be able to find out what happened to them? *Misses out Season 3* *Toby is not A*
1. Prologue

A/N ~ I've been wanting to write this for a while, but I've been busy with my other stories and school stuff and all that shizzle. I'll probably put up this chapter and then put it on a short hiatus while I finish Mean Witches, and then I'll continue this, but I really love this idea. What do you think? Should I continue, or is this a rubbish idea? I plan on it getting more mysterious, but obviously this is the prologue and occurs 15 years before the rest of the story. In the next chapter, Allie will be 15 (nearly 16) and trying to find out more about her parents and what happened to them.

Summary:  
Based very loosely on the book 'Dead Time' by Anne Cassidy. When their daughter was 6 months old, Toby and Spencer Cavanaugh dropped her off at Emily's house before skipping town. 15 years later and Alexandra Cavanaugh has yet to hear from them. With the help of a mysterious box of her parents' old mementos in the Attic and her best friend Maya McCullers, can Allie uncover what happened to them?

* * *

Right. So here's a guide to the liars' children:

Spencer and Toby  
Alexandra Marion Cavanaugh – 15 years old

Hanna and Caleb  
No children at the moment (I may make her get pregnant later in the story, possibly)

Emily and Paige  
Maya Alison McCullers (biologically Emily's) – 15 years old

Aria and Ezra  
Caspian Atticus Fitz – 4 years old

* * *

"Spencer? Toby? What's the matter? What's wrong?"

It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and Emily Fields had just opened the door to find her two best friends standing on her porch in the pouring rain. Spencer's hair was sticking to her face and Toby was wearing a sombre expression on his face while the rain trickled down his cheeks, yet the baby in Spencer's arms was fast asleep, her rosebud lips slightly puckered and her eyelashes dark and heavy on her porcelain skin.

"Have you been getting them again?" Spencer's tone was urgent, and Emily knew she couldn't lie to her friend, not even in the panicked state she was in.

"Yes."

"When? How many?"

The first one had come in about 4pm the previous day. Emily had just had an argument with Paige about their 4-month-old daughter, Maya. Maya was biologically Emily's daughter; therefore Emily had insisted that Maya should take Paige's surname. The argument itself wasn't that relevant: Paige had wanted to start taking Maya to baby swimming classes when she was six months old, whereas Emily had wanted to wait until she was a year old and then see if she wanted to start swimming classes. They had since made up, but right after Paige had stormed off to town, Emily's phone had chimed. Even though it had been 5 years since Mona was unveiled as 'A', Emily and her friends still got goose-bumps every time their phones chimed, and as she grabbed her phone off the kitchen counter, her worst fear was confirmed:

**Hey Em, long time no see! I have much to catch up on; lucky I'm so good at multitasking! –A**

The text held no threat, and Emily and her friends had received so many fake 'A' texts since the night of the masquerade ball that the words on the screen only slightly scared her. But the second text that came through the next morning convinced Emily that this person, whoever they were, wasn't playing around:

**Good morning, baby mama! I spy another naughty little liar for me to watch! You better do as I say, or you might find your bundle of joy vanishes while your back is turned. Luckily for me babies love dolls, and I have plenty of those... –A**

She hadn't told Paige about either of the two messages, and had kept Maya within her sight all day, not taking her eyes off her for a minute, she was so paranoid. Even now she had Paige holding Maya as she slept... or didn't, as she heard Maya starting to wail upstairs, and the sound of Paige trying to hush her back to sleep.

"I got one last night and one this morning. Have you got any?"

Spencer and Toby exchanged a worried look "We got a couple this morning and another about an hour ago."

"Oh. Wait – _we_? As in both of you have been getting texts from –A?"

"Yes. That's why we need to talk to you."

Emily was confused. "Okay. But how do you know this isn't some idiot trying to prank us? It could just be a coincidence."

"I don't think it is. Last night when we were in the hot tub, Toby says he saw someone wearing a black hoodie watching us from over the fence."

Emily shivered. "That's creepy, but how do you know it was actually 'A'?"

"We've been speaking to Mona." This time it was Toby who spoke. "She knows a place in Montecito where one of the 'A's has been staying, ready to kill Caleb's mom if necessary. We're going to go up there and try and find out more so we can try and stop this for good."

"What about-"

"Well, we were kind of wondering if you could look after her, just until we get back. We can't bring our baby into all this mess, and it'll be easier to track down and find out who this 'A' is if we don't have her with us." That was Toby again.

"I can't, Spence. 'A' has already threatened my baby, and I couldn't keep two safe from 'A'. I need to be able to keep watch on Maya all the time. I'm already starting to feel like 'A' myself. You can't trust me with your baby too. Try with Hanna or Aria."

"You know I love both of them, but Hanna could look after a baby like she could wear the same clothes for a year, and you know how well Aria babysitting Malcolm went. He ended up in hospital with a split chin. Please Emily. You're the only one we'd want to look after our baby." Toby nodded in agreement, and Spencer turned on the 'lost puppy' face. "Please Em. Please look after Allie for us."

She couldn't take it anymore. "Okay. Of course I'll look after her for you. Just maybe sure you stay safe and alive, okay? I'll miss you so, so much." She reached up to hug Toby and then Spencer, tears forming in her eyes and she took the sleeping baby from Spencer, holding her careful to make sure she didn't wake up. "I mean that, okay? I need the other halves of Team Spemily and Team Tobily to stay strong. I know you can do this. Make sure you phone every so often. Do Hanna and Emily know you're leaving?"

"Not yet. But I'll tell them. My parents and Melissa know we're going, but they think we're going on holiday, and we're taking Allie with us, so don't correct them, okay? Jason knows the truth. Well, except for the whole 'A' part." Spencer hugged her again, and then Toby joined in, so the whole thing became a kind of three way hug. Then Spencer wiped her eyes with the tip of her sleeve and leaned down to kiss the baby's forehead. "Goodbye, Alexandra Marion Cavanaugh. Mommy will always love you. Never forget that." She stroked the baby's cheek, and then Toby leaned down to do the same. "You stay here and stay happy and remember, no matter how long it takes, we _will_ come back for you. Someday this will all be over, and we can live a normal and happy live. Goodbye, Allie." He gently held the baby's hand, and then he and Spencer held hands and started back towards the curb.

"I'll miss you two," Emily said again, watching them go. She felt like someone in a film, watching her two best friends walk away from her and their only child, to go save their friends and end this once and for all. It was a move only Spencer and Toby would make.

She watched them get into Toby's tan truck and rev the engine. Both of them were waving and crying and trying to keep wobbly smiles on their faces as they drove away and out of sight.

Emily waited until she couldn't see them anymore, and then she let the tears fall down her face, forgetting they would land on the baby's forehead. She looked down, and saw Allie looking up at her, neither crying nor smiling, just gazing at her with Toby's crystal blue eyes. As if she knew what had just happened. Just seeing those eyes was enough to pull her over the edge, and she took the baby, who had Spencer's dark hair and Toby's eyes and the cleft in the chin that both of her friends shared, and she held her close and sobbed into Allie's soft hair.

After all, that would be the last time she would ever see Toby and Spencer.

* * *

Dun dun duhh! I do plan to continue this, I have it all planned out (Well, mostly), so stay tuned!


	2. 15 Years Later

A/N – It's me again! Thank you so much for all my lovely reviews, I've never had so many in one chapter before, so thank you so much! I don't know when I'll be putting up this chapter, but I do know I'll be continuing this. I'm not sure how many chapters it will be, though.

Update (Easter Monday) –Sorry it's been so long! I was away over Easter with my cousins, and then I went on a Church pilgrimage thing with my church, and I've only just got away! The pilgrimage itself was okay, but I was on my own and I only had a couple of 40-year-olds to talk to :( Anyway, I'm back now, so expect a Mean Witches update soon!

Thank you to:

**AmyAmilyMe:** Thank you! I almost cried writing the first chapter :( but the others won't be as sad hopefully :)  
**HarrylovesGinny09:** Thanks! I actually recognised your penname from a shoutout on another fanfic, though I can't remember which one. I really like your penname :)  
**Guest:** I'll do my best!  
**ThatKidFromSchool:** They won't die, I could never do that to them, I love them too much 3 I absolutely love Spoby. Thank you, and you're right, I got the numbers mixed up. It's because Allie was originally going to be two years old when she was left at Emily's, but then I changed it and forgot to change the years. Thank you for pointing that out! I think I've corrected it now. And you're brighter than me, seeing as I should've checked my work better!  
**Onedirection2013:** I'm a directioner too! Just thought I'd let you know. And I'll do my best to give you more chapters, although I have a lot of stories to catch up with right now :)  
**Sleepinthepasture:** Thank you so much! I was trawling through the search results looking for a mystery PLL story but I couldn't find many, so I just thought I should write one instead! Plus, I've wanted to write a next gen PLL fanfic for a while too. Thank you! And I love your penname!

I'd also like to say that I dicided to name her Alexandra because it's like she's named after Ali without actually being named after Ali, you know? Plus, Spencer likes the film 'The Notebook', and there's an Allie in that, so I just named her that. Marion of course is after Toby's mother, if you've seen 'Dead to Me'.

* * *

15 Years Later

"Allie? If you're not out of that bathroom in five minutes, I'm asking Mom to leave without you!"

Allie, who was busy brushing her hair at the time, just laughed. Maya, her best friend (or as she liked to called her 'her adopted sister') just wanted to get to school extra early so she could check out the pool. Since she turned 6 she and Maya had been homeschooled, taught by either Paige or Emily, or occasionally Ezra or Aria, but there was only so much they could learn at home, and with Ezra and Aria's son, Caspian, at such an active age, meaning they were unable to teach them anymore at home, Emily had decided to put them into high school. But even though she was trying not to show it, she was really nervous. She hadn't attended a proper school since kindergarten, and she wondered what it was like.

"I'm coming, Maya!" Allie ran downstairs and into the hallway, where Maya was waiting for her, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Come on, Allie! Mom needs to be at the pool for 8:30, and we need to tell the office that we've arrived."

"Hang on. Which mom is this?"

Maya smiled. "Momma Paige"

Although Maya had never had a problem with having two moms and no dad, it did get a bit confusing knowing which mom she meant when she said 'Mom'. Therefore sometimes Maya just called them 'Momma Emily' and 'Momma Paige', just to clear it up for Allie.

"Well, let's go then!" Maya grabbed her denim jacket from its hook by the door, and they headed for the car.

The car ride was quick, and nobody spoke much except for Paige's "Looking forward to your first day?" and "it's a lot better now than it was when Emily and I went there.". Allie knew she was just trying to help and reassure them, but she really wasn't helping. Allie could already feel goose-bumps forming on the skin of her arms. The mere thought of all those people, and all the teachers she'd have to please made butterflies flap their wings violently as they flew around in her stomach. It wasn't the idea of work and homework that scared her – even though she'd never been set a piece of homework in her life, she was sure that she could keep up with it easily – It was just that Allie Cavanaugh was a very shy person.

She was friends with her adoptive parents and their friends; Caleb, Hanna, Ezra and Aria. She loved the latter's 4-year-old son Caspian, who she would regularly go round to babysit when there were art exhibitions on at the gallery. Of course she had Maya, who she had been best friends with for as long as she could remember. She just didn't connect easily with people her age.

Much like her father, although she didn't know that.

"Bye girls," said Paige as they got out the car. "Work hard and have fun!" She walked off in the direction of the swimming pool, ready for coaching today's swimming gala against St Agnes's team, leaving Maya and Allie standing in front of the school, not really knowing what to do.

"What do we do now?" asked Maya, echoing Allie's thoughts exactly.

"I guess we should go sign in," replied Allie, even though she had no idea where the office was.

The two girls walked in and had a look around. Luckily for them the office was right near the door, with a plaque marked 'Office' on it. They walked in to find a slim blonde woman with rings on every finger and tattooed-on eyebrows typing at a desk. She didn't look up as they knocked on the door, and even when they were standing in front of the desk she didn't say a word.

"Um, hi. We-"

"Shh!"

Allie and Maya looked at each other. Sure, maybe she was working, but they were hardly shouting and waving ipods around, were they?

The woman finished her typing, and looked up at last to reveal that someone was a bit _too_ obsessed with pink mascara. "How may I help you?"

Maya went first. "Hi. It's our first day here, and we were told to register here."

"Okay. I need you to fill out a form each, one at a time, and then you'll be given a map each. You may keep your maps until you graduate, but then you must hand them back in. If you fail to do so, you must pay for a new one."

Bit weird, thought Allie. Why couldn't they just get disposable maps like normal schools?

"Do you wanna go first, or shall I?" asked Maya.

"You go first. That way, you can finish early and go check out the pool while I do mine. We can meet up at 8:55 outside here," Allie told her. It seemed like a good plan.

"Okay, you are officially the master of time and the world's greatest friend. Thank you so much!" Maya gave her a quick hug.

"You know where the pool is, right?"

"It's the only place I do know." She looked like she was going to say more, but then the woman came back in with two folded up laminated leaflets that looked like maps, and two forms. She set one map and one form on the desk in front of Maya, and the other on the filing cabinet behind her, as if she was frightened that Allie would try and steal it from her. She handed Maya a pen, and Maya sat down on one of the red plastic chairs by the desk and began to fill the form out.

Since Allie had nothing to do until Maya finished filling out that form, she sat down in the other chair and took out her pocket sketchbook. She had always been good at drawing, and her Auntie Aria had encouraged her to draw, even buying her first sketchbook when she was 4 years old. She began to draw her surroundings: Maya, the red plastic chairs, the secretary, the desk, even all the posters on the walls of the globe and that had quotes on by famous philosophers from Ancient Greece. She shaded in Maya's dark hair and the secretary's pink eyelashes, and even added in the woman's pearly nails, drumming on the wood of the desk as she waited for Maya to finish filling in her form. She finished the sketch as Maya was writing the last sentence on her form.

'See you soon!' she mouthed, and then she left Allie sitting in the office alone. The secretary set the next form and map on the desk, and Allie moved to sit in front of it. The form itself looked pretty simple: What was her name, her home address, favourite subjects, that sort of thing. Personally, she thought this form was a bit pointless, but she filled it in regardless with her details: That her name was Alexandra Marion Cavanaugh, that she was almost 16 years old, that she lived at 43 Serenity Lane with Maya and her parents; Allie's adoptive family. She also wrote that she loved English, math, French and art. When she was finished she set the form back down in front of the secretary and picked up her map. She would most likely need it later.

The secretary picked up Allie's form and examined it, as if to make sure it was all filled out correctly. "Cavanaugh?" she questioned. Allie was about to answer, but the woman had already moved on and was now tutting at the rest of the paper. Allie really wanted to give the woman a mouthful for judging her so quickly, but she knew she must keep her calm. As she left, she tucked the drawing behind the computer.

Let her find it herself if she could.

* * *

The rest of the day should have been stressful, and Maya was already moaning about the amount of homework, but Allie easily managed to record all her homework and even got some of it done during break. Although she didn't know it, that was her mother inside her beginning to get to work after all this time of no school and no homework.

"How am I supposed to get all this done in time?" asked Maya as she stirred her spaghetti on its plate in the cafeteria. Allie's plate was empty, and she had neatly put her knife and fork together on her plate. She was currently working on another sketch, her pencil flying around the paper as the image began to take shape.

"You're not sketching again, are you? What are you drawing now?" Maya leaned over to get a better look, and saw the outlines of two girls getting their lunch, or lack of it, as they came away from the counter with just a yoghurt each.

"I think the one with dark hair is Cassidy Kahn. She has a twin brother. I have no idea what his name is, but I heard he's a jerk and a player," Maya relayed to her.

"I don't really care, to be honest. I just thought her friend's hair was cool." The girl in question followed her friend to a table in the middle of the cafeteria, her blonde-with-white-blonde-highlights hair pulled up into a high ponytail.

" Anyway. How was your morning? Besides all the work?"

"Don't even ask. I got questioned by three teachers on how to spell 'McCullers', my biology teacher hates me..." Maya was off again, and Allie took the opportunity to finish her sketch.

* * *

The rest of school went by in a blur. Allie left school on her first day with the praise of five teachers (the other one didn't seem to like her that much, despite the fact that she'd worked extra hard on the economics questions she'd been set in class), only two homeworks (doing them at breaks really helped) and the prospect of walking home alone, since Maya was staying after school as an excuse to do extra swimming practise. Allie didn't mind too much. She had a lot to think about.

Taking the bus seemed like a good swap for walking home in the cold, so she took the bus that stopped on the next street from her house. It was also a good reason to whip out her sketchbook and sketch the two women with their arms full of bags from Prada and Tiffany's, the father and his daughter in front of her, the old man who had fallen asleep at the back of the bus and the boy who looked to be a year or so younger than her across the aisle, texting non-stop on his phone, his headphone firmly secured into his ears. She'd drawn them all, and signed the picture with a very loopy 'AMC' at the bottom of the page.

She put this one into her pocket. Maybe she'd give it to Maya later, and remind her what she missing.

* * *

"How was school?" asked Emily the minute Allie got home.

"It was okay. I'll tell you about it in a minute; I need to do my homework first," replied Allie, and luckily Emily didn't push her on it. She went upstairs, put her school bag on the floor and went over to her bed. Sitting down, she took a photo frame off her bedside cabinet and gazed at it longingly. The frame held a picture of a man and a woman with their arms round each other in front of what looked like a wood. The man was muscular, with dusty-brown hair and the same blue eyes that Allie had. He was smiling broadly, like he was the happiest person in the world, and he had his arm wrapped firmly around the woman as if he couldn't bear to let her go. Allie smiled at him for a minute, and then shifted her gaze to the woman. She was slim, with long dark brown hair and high cheekbones. Her eyes were open and looking towards the camera but seemed dreamy and happy as she wrapped her arms around the man's torso. Allie looked at the both of them, and then she opened her mouth and began to talk.

"Hello Mom, Dad. Today was my first day at Rosewood High. I think I did well. I don't have any new friends yet, but I have Maya, so it's okay. She's at school still, swimming laps around the pool. She's not allowed to start on the Sharks until next week, but that doesn't stop her."

She sighed. "I guess I should finish the rest of my homework. I love you both." She kissed the glass over both of their faces, and set the photo back down on her beside cabinet. Then she pulled out her history books and her copy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and sat down at her desk, got out her pencil case, and started on her history questions first.

* * *

Later that night, Allie wished the same wish she'd been wishing ever since she could remember, but As usual, nothing changed. The doorbell didn't ring, and her parents weren't standing outside the front door.

Maybe she just had to accept that they weren't coming back.

* * *

Next Chapter is from Emily's point of view!

Live, love, Spoby 3 3


	3. Spencer's Letter

A/N: Hey everyone! This may be my last update in a few days, as I really need to do my homework and coursework, and I'm also working on a picture of Allie as a teenager. It probably won't be very good, but I'll put it up on Deviantart and let you know when it's done :)

* * *

The next day, as she heard the car drive around the corner bringing Paige, Allie and Maya to school, Emily picked up the phone and dialled one of the numbers she knew by heart, picking at a stray thread on her white jumper.

"Hey Em!" Hanna chirped. "You know, I haven't seen you in nearly a week and a half! How are you?"

"I'm good. Allie and Maya started school yesterday." Emily switched the phone from her left ear to her right.

"Really? How's that for them?"

"Maya's already complaining to me about the fact that she can't join the Sharks or the school jazz band until next week, and that her teachers hate her and give her too much homework."

"And Allie?"

"Already done all her homework, and she's done extension work too. She's trying out for the Decathalon team next Friday, so of course she's started revising already. Just like her mother."

There was silence at the other end of the phone.

"Hanna? Are you still there?"

"I'm here. It's just... it's hard, you know? After all these years, it still hurts. Where is she, Emily? Did she tell you where she was going?" Hanna's voice was quieter now, and she sounded close to crying.

"Apart from what I told you about Montecito, no. I know who she's dealing with here, but it can't take 15 years to track down A in Montecito." Emily spread her left hand flat on the kitchen counter, fingers splayed, and willed herself not to cry.

"Wherever she is, she's got Toby, and she's saving us. Without her, We'd all be getting a seriously creepy case of déjà vu," Hanna attempted to make a joke out of it, but Emily didn't laugh.

"Do you ever hear from her?"

"She's sent me six letters so far. She won't tell me where she is or what she's doing, she just says that she hopes we're okay and happy. Have you heard from her?" Hanna asked.

"Same as you, in letters. She's never left an address though. Maybe she has to move around a lot with Toby."

"Has she ever tried to contact Allie? More to the point, how much does Allie know about her parents? Have you told her the truth about where they are?"

There it was, one of the questions Emily had been dreading most, because she knew what Hanna's attitude to this question would be. The morning after Spencer and Toby had dropped off Allie and left for California, Emily and Paige had discussed what to do about the situation. They'd agreed that Allie should stay with them, but Emily had been reluctant to tell Allie about why her parents had left so abruptly. As far as Allie, and everyone but the girls, their significant others and Jason for that matter knew, Spencer and Toby had to live out of state for work reasons, but had left Allie with Emily so that she could stay settled while they travelled around. Spencer's parents and Melissa of course thought that Allie was with them, and had no idea that their granddaughter/niece actually lived a couple of streets away. Allie of course had no idea that she had an aunt and grandparents living so close, just like she had no idea that she had another set of grandparents and another step-aunt living on the same street. She didn't know that much about her parents, although Emily did recall a day when Allie had asked about them:

* * *

(Flashback)

"_Mommy Emmy?"_

"_What is it, Allie?" Emily asked her. It was a lovely summer's day, and Emily had taken both Allie and Maya, aged 4 at the time, to Wright's playground. She'd played in here as a child, but although the sun was shining through the trees and there was a couple of other families in the playground too, she seemed to have the image of the 'Jenna bracelet' etched into her mind, as well as the memory of herself and Spencer uncovering the tree with 'Ali + Ian' carved into it. Even after all these years, the stump of that tree was still just on the outskirts of the playground, and every time her gaze slid over it, she shuddered._

_Next time Allie and Maya wanted to go to the park, Paige would have to take them._

_Unfortunately Paige was at work, starting her fifth month of being an assistant swim coach at Rosewood High, so Emily had no choice. Maya loved it, and immediately ran off to the swings, slide, roundabout, sandpit and mini climbing frame. Allie followed, but came back to the bench where Emily was sitting watching them after the first 10 minutes, pining for her sketchbook (an early birthday present from Aria). _

"_What do my real Mommy and Daddy look like?" The little girl looked up at her with Toby's blue eyes, and Emily froze for a second, just looking into those eyes._

"_Your daddy has brown hair and blue eyes, just like you. He's tall, and he has big muscles."_

"_Does my real daddy like to smile?" quizzed Allie._

_This made Emily smile. "Your real daddy has a heart of gold."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_It means that your daddy is one of the kindest people I know. And he is always smiling. Well, nearly always," She finished off._

_Allie finished colouring in the picture Toby's long-sleeved blue t-shirt. "Is my real mummy pretty?"_

"_Your real mummy is very pretty. She's tall, and slim, and she has long brown hair and brown eyes," Emily replied, smiling._

"_Okay." Allie started to draw the outline of a woman next to her drawing of Toby, complete with stick arms and legs and big smiles on their faces._

_Emily turned her head to watch Maya climb across a very low set of monkey arms, her expression determined, cheeky and happy all at the same time. Emily knew the expression well; Maya's namesake would often wear it. She wondered how things would be if Maya was still alive. Would Emily and Maya be dating still, raising a child and growing old together? Maya would be a much less responsible parent than Paige, she knew that. What would she be doing right now it that was the case? Would she be working hard, earning money, or would she be sitting with them right now, laughing and adding in her memories of Toby and Spencer?_

_But, appealing as that future sounded, Emily had to admit that it wasn't as good as the one she had now, much as she wanted Maya to come back from the dead. She loved Paige, and Paige was a good mother to little Maya. Better not to dwell on the past, and what could have been._

"_I finished!" cried Allie, holding the picture up for Emily to see. A blue box-shaped house was at one side, but the page was mostly taken up by the Toby and Spencer figures. Toby had broad shoulders and bright blue eyes, complete with black pupils, while Spencer had long, wavy brown hair and was wearing a long skirt and a blazer. In the middle of Toby and Spencer Allie had added herself, with long brown hair and wearing a long, blue party dress. There was a thin strip of green at the bottom, which Emily guessed was grass, and a thicker strip of blue at the top of the page, with a sun in the corner of the blue strip. Emily thought she should have felt slightly offended that she, Paige and Maya weren't included in the picture, but she didn't. This was how Allie's family should be. Toby and Spencer should still be here, looking after their daughter in their house. They should be the ones who taught her to walk and talk and potty-trained her. They should have brought Allie to her first day of kindergarten, and baked her a birthday cake on each of her birthday, and read her stories every night before bedtime. And not for the first time, even thought she felt terrible for it - they were doing this for her, after all – she wished that Spencer and Toby had just stayed in Rosewood – screw A. _

"_I'm sorry, Mommy Emmy," said Allie, seeing the tears rolling down Emily's cheeks._

"_It's not your fault, Allie. I just really miss your mommy and daddy. They're my best friends," Emily told her._

"_What about Auntie Awia and Auntie Hanna? Are they not your fwends anymore?"_

"_Of course they are! I have lots of best friends."_

_Allie considered this. "I only have one fwend, and that's Maya."_

"_You don't have any other friends at kindergarten?"_

_Allie shook her head. "Nope. But it's okay, I play with Maya. But sometimes the big girls are mean to me."_

"_What do they say to you?" There were some girls in Allie and Maya's kindergarten class that were a lot taller and stronger than them. The kind of girls that were spoilt rotten and had parents that drove Ferraris and had home cinemas in their basement._

_The kind of girls that were like Ali, but younger._

"_Millie says my real mommy and daddy left because they didn't want me. She's wrong, isn't she?"_

_This nearly made Emily cry. Not just because of the thought of Allie getting bullied for her lack of parents, but because Allie's trying to stay optimistic that Millie was wrong reminded her of Toby._

"_I should really give this to you on your birthday, but I'm going to give it to you early," Emily told her, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small wrapped package._

"_A present?" Allie couldn't hide the glee in her voice._

"_Yes. Open it."_

_Allie carefully unwrapped the present, making sure not to rip any of the wrapping paper, and got down to a layer of tissue paper. She looked up at Emily._

"_Go on."_

_Unwrapping the tissue paper, she reached out and took the object, holding it in the palm of her hand. It was a silver locket, decorated with a pattern that resembled a plume of feathers, and It had a thin silver chain to fasten it around her neck._

"_Here," Emily slid her thumbnail under the catch and carefully swung it open, revealing a small fitted photo of Spencer and Toby smiling at the camera, a small bundle of blankets held in Spencer's arms._

"_Is that me?" Allie asked, pointing at the bundle._

"_Yes. So you see, they did love you very much, and they still do. But they can't live here with us, because they have work to do in other places. It might take take them a long time to finish. But they will come back, I promise." Right then, Emily wanted nothing more than for Spencer and Toby to see their daughter, and see what their absence was doing to her._

"_Thank you, Mommy Emmy. I love you." Allie put her arms around Emily's middle, and Emily hugged her back._

"_I love you too, Allie."_

(End of Flashback)

* * *

"No, I haven't told her yet."

"What? Why not? She has the right to know!"

"Because the less she knows, the better! If she knows about A, then she could be a target, and I promised Toby and Spencer I'd keep her safe! I'm not about to go against my promise just so she knows that instead of travelling the continent to earn money, they're travelling the continent to keep us safe. She's so much like her parents that she'd hate the idea of them not being able to settle down because they're protecting us!"

There was no sound from Hanna's end. Then, "I haven't heard you say so much in one go in a long time, Em! I'm sorry. I know you're trying to protect Allie, and you're doing a good job of it. If Spence had left Allie with me I'd had lost my mind over what to do by now."

"Which is why she left her with me," Emily told her. "Do you have plans next week? We should meet up at The Brew sometime."

"Only if there's shopping involved!" Hanna cried. "Mine and Caleb's wedding anniversary is coming up, and you and Aria need to come with me and find something nice to wear. He's going to take me out to dinner, so I need something nice, but not so that it'll be sitting at the back of my closet for the next few years."

Emily laughed. "Okay, Han. I'll text you later, okay? Bye." She ended the call and put the phone down and then headed upstairs to her room. Reaching up, she pulled out the box that was hidden at the top of her wardrobe. She opened it and carefully took out the folded up sheet of paper in the top of the box. Unfolding it, Emily reread through Spencer's last letter, which was dated six months ago:

* * *

_Dear Emily,_

_I hope you're well, and Aria isn't driving you mad. Just because I'm not with you right now doesn't mean I don't know that it's Hanna's birthday next week (or it should be, depending on if this letter gets to you on time) and she'll be dragging you around trying to find a dress and pick a theme, meanwhile Caleb won't be able to keep up with all the drama. I wish more than anything that I could be there with you, trying to organise everything. I miss everyone so much. More than once I've got back to whichever motel or hotel we're staying in and found Toby in the bedroom, crying silently over the only thing we have left of Allie's: her old blanket. I wish it were possible for you to send us a picture of her, but with our lifestyle of having to be constantly ready to just pick up our bags and switch motels, it wouldn't be possible. Plus, if A ever found out about Allie, I don't know what I'd do. Not having a photo makes it easier to keep her a secret, but I'd love to see how she looks now. She's nearly 15, I know that. I bet she looks a lot like Toby, and I bet she has his sense of morality; it's things like that that are hard not to pass onto your children. I'm sure she works hard and is a perfectionist, like me. Tell me, Em, have Melissa and Mom and Dad worked it out yet? Do they know that Allie isn't with me and Toby after all? I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't; they never did pay attention to what was going on in my life, unless it involved the police. _

_Hopefully this'll all be over soon, and then we can come home and live in peace again. I don't know exactly how long it'll take. Mona and Holden will be arriving next month, and they're going to be helping us find out if A is still where we think he/she is. A's been pretty dormant for a while, so we're hoping we can come back soon, but as you know, A always has a way of coming back._

_Look after Allie for me, and tell her and the girls how much I miss them. I love you too, Em, possibly more, because after all, you've been for Allie all these years when I haven't been able to. _

_Lots of Love,_

_Spencer and Toby xxx_

* * *

Awww! I love Spoby so much! If any of you want to see cute baby pictures of Ashley, Shay, Ian, Keegan, Sasha, Troian, Brendan or Lucy, here's the link. Baby Keegan is so cute! His eyes :) And baby Sasha is adorable, it has to be said.

w w w . pretty little entertainment cast-members-adorable-baby-pictures /#1 (but without the spaces)


	4. Just Like Her Father

A/N: Sorry! School work is getting the better of me and my updating. I officially hate homework. I took time off from FanFiction for my Biology revision and I still haven't finished it. I have until next Wednesday to finish it, write two History essays, do an English coursework presentation, design my DT GCSE work, write out my French writing essay for this year and revise for a Physics test next Thursday. Not good. So forgive me if I can't update until late next week. I'm sorry :(

Also, I'm English, so forgive me if my spelling is English rather than American. Also, if anyone wants to help me out with what freshmen do exam-wise in a year (do freshmen have Prom or Homecoming at all?), I could use the help! However, I've had a fluffy plot bunny (see what I did there?) so I have some ideas for future chapters, although I do look at requests, so if you want me to bring in any of your favourite characters or anything, let me know!

**Onedirection2013 –** I love Louis the most :) He is hilarious! But I love everyone else too. Who's your favourite? I'll try and update more. Definitely.

**ThatKidFromSchool –** I used to be good at Maths. I actually got 81% on my exam two years ago. And then last year I got 68%. So I'm actually bad at Maths now ;) Thank you!

**HarrylovesGinny09 –** Thankyou! :)

**Dreamcatch3r –** Thanks! I love your penname, by the way.

**Guest –** Thankyou! That means a lot to me :D

* * *

After a week of school, the two girls were already showing signs of strength; Maya in the pool and Allie academically. Allie had started on the Decathalon and was one of their most prized members, but she couldn't join the field hockey squad for another week due to the hockey fields being done up. Maya, however, was one of the best swimmers on the Sharks, but wasn't as strong as Allie in lessons. Allie spent most of her evenings tutoring Maya in math, the one subject that Maya really couldn't cope with.

"So you cross out the 'O' and the 'A', and that leaves you with the Hypotenuse," Allie explained to Maya, copying down a few more History notes as she talked.

"Right. Okay." Maya finished writing, and shut her book with a loud _thomp_ noise. "I just hate math. It's so pointless and-"

"Allie?" Emily's voice came from downstairs. "That was Aria. She wants to know if you can babysit Caspian while she and Ezra go to that play in Yardley on Saturday."

"Sure!" Allie shouted back. "What time?"

"What time?" Emily asked into the phone. "Seven!" She yelled back after a few seconds.

"Does this mean that you can't help me revise for that French test at the weekend?" Maya asked, getting up from her desk and flopping down onto her bed.

"Maya, you're going to that swimming gala in West Virginia at the weekend, remember? But I can help you when you get back, I guess."

"Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me! I don't know what I'd do without you." Maya said, but made no move to mark it onto the calendar by the door, so Allie pulled a pen out of her shirt pocket and wrote it on for her.

"Maybe now you're less likely to forget it again," she told Maya, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Maya Alison McCullers! Get off your bed! Allie isn't your slave," Emily said as she walked into Maya's room, but she was smiling, so the girls knew she wasn't mad. "Thank you, Allie. You didn't have to do that for Maya."

"She wouldn't have done it if I hadn't, Mommy Emily," Allie replied. Even though Maya had always called her parents 'Momma', Allie had preferred to call them 'Mommy'.

Emily smiled, and for a moment it looked like she was about to cry. "You're so selfless. Just like your parents. Your father would be so proud of you if he could see you now, Allie."

Allie almost dropped the pen that she was still holding. Emily almost never volunteered information about her parents freely, and she was desperate to know more. "Can you tell me more about them?"

"I'm sorry, Allie, but I've got to go buy some stuff for dinner, otherwise we'll end up eating the plates. Tell Paige that I'll be back by 7, could you? I'll see you later." And with that she turned around and left, leaving Allie feeling deflated.

But she didn't give up. Because after all, she was part-Hastings, even if she didn't know it, and everyone knows that Hastings' don't give up.

* * *

I'm sorry for the length, but I have a great idea for the next chapter, which is about Allie babysitting Caspian. The one after that (well, I think it'll be the one after that, or two after at the most) will have Allie's first field hockey session in, but I'm not giving anything else away! Please review!


	5. A Stumble Into Memory Lane

**A/N-** Hey! I'll keep this brief, but since Season 3 doesn't happen in this story, which means that no one would know that Melissa had a miscarriage, right? So Taylor will be in this story, but obviously Allie doesn't know that Taylor is her cousin. Taylor is about 21 in this, though, so you won't see that much of her. But the real question is, what's her surname going to be? I could go for either

Hastings?

Or

Thomas?

So which one? PM or review and let me know!

Also, thank you to **LittleSpoby2199**, who let me borrow the idea for the 'Aria, Emily and Hanna spying on Spoby' video. If you like this story, you really should read hers!

**RedDiamonds1234 –** Thanks! I will! And I was stalking your profile (I hope you don't mind) and I love your name! It's so pretty :)

**Dreamcatch3r –** Thank you! And I will :)

**Onedirection2013 –** I like Niall too, since I'm a 1/4 Irish, but I'd love to have an Irish accent :)

Recommended songs 

This Country is Badass – Sasha Pieterse (for obvious reasons. But it's a great song)

A Place in This World – Taylor Swift

Bless Myself – Lucy Hale (again, for obvious reasons)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars or the Postman Pat book 'Julian and the Vacuum Cleaner'.

* * *

"We'll be back by 10, okay Allie?" Aria said, as she and Ezra were leaving on Saturday night. Caspian was already wearing his pyjamas and was doodling on a piece of paper at the kitchen table.

"That's fine, Aria. You look beautiful, by the way." Aria was wearing a royal-blue strapless cocktail dress with heel to match and it was true, she did look beautiful.

Aria gave a wide smile. "Thank you, Allie. You look beautiful too."

Allie looked down at her 3/4 rolled-up jeans with the worn-in knees, and her old, ratty, blue t-shirt. "Me? I don't look beautiful."

"Yes you do. You look just like your mother, and she's one of the most beautiful people I know. Plus, your father had the most amazing eyes I've ever seen. They were just so... blue."

"Hey!" Ezra scolded her. "I have blue eyes too!"

"And yours are lovely, but remember, I was the one who agreed to marry you. And I didn't just marry you for your eyes," she replied, taking his hand. "Now we really must go, or we'll miss the train. Bye, Caspian. Be good for Allie!" And with that, Ezra opened the door, and they both went out into the corridor outside the apartment, closing the door behind them.

Allie stood in the hallway, still reeling from what Aria had said. Two pieces of information volunteered about her parent in one week? It seemed crazy, considering no one usually talked about her parents that much.

"Allie? Can you help me with my name please?"

Allie sighed, and headed back into the kitchen/sitting room, which looked like a cross between an art studio and an apartment. Bookshelves lined the walls, stuffed with literary classics and novels. There was a shelf dedicated to the three poem books Ezra had had published and the novel that Aria had written two years ago, but the bottom shelves were put aside for Caspian's baby books and his Postman Pat and Bob the Builder collection. There were several framed canvas posters for old movies that Allie had been forced to watch by Aria the minute she turned 13, and a small table with three chairs set around it sat in the middle of the side of the room that was the kitchen. Caspian sat at the table, with pencils strewn around it (Artist quality pencils, Allie couldn't help but notice. Trust Aria to try and turn her son into a professional artist at four).

"Sure, Casper. What letters do you need help with?" Allie asked him, using the nickname she had given him when she was younger.

"What comes after the 'ih'?"

"An 'ah' and a 'nuh'," she told him, writing the two letters down on a scrap piece of paper. "Do you need any more help?"

"No, I can do it," he replied, completing his name on the page and then turning it over to reveal the picture. "Look, Allie!"

"What is it?"

"It's my mommy and daddy. I drew it for my daddy's birthday. But don't tell them; it's a secret," He whispered, holding the picture up for Allie to see. It was surprisingly good for a four-year-old, but Allie would have expected Aria and Ezra's son to be an art-and English prodigy anyway.

"Okay, well can you go and put it in a safe place, and then I'll read you a story."

"Okay!" Caspian took the picture back off Allie and headed out the door to his bedroom, which was about the size of a generous cupboard, but was lovely, with stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and light-blue walls. He pulled a box out from under his bed, carefully put the picture in, closed it and pushed it back under his bed before grabbing a thin Postman Pat book off the bookshelf closest to his bed.

"You want this one?" Allie asked, lying down on the bed next to him. "Okay. It was Pat's day off on Monday. Julian was at school..."

* * *

Five and a half minute later, and Caspian was fast asleep. Allie tucked him up, kissed his little forehead, replaced the book on the bookshelf and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Now she was at a loss of what to do. She'd already done all her homework. She'd already eaten dinner, and she didn't feel like reading or watching TV. Then she noticed the laptop sitting on the desk by one of the overly-stacked bookshelves. Aria had said she was welcome to use it to check emails and such-like, after all, so she sat down and traced her finger around the touchpad to wake it up. Instantly the homescreen popped up, which was a photo of Ezra, Aria and Caspian in front of the Eiffel Tower when they went on holiday two years ago.

Aliie smiled. She knew instantly that Ezra had been the last to use the laptop, because while Aria always made sure to shut down the laptop when she'd finished with it; as though paranoid that someone would sneak in and hack her files; Ezra never logged off even.

She was debating on whether to check her emails or to simply just go on Amazon and look up new art supplies when a folder in the top-right of the homepage caught her eye.

Videos.

Or she could just watch a film instead. That sounded good.

She clicked on the folder, and then stopped. These weren't movies. They were home-videos, and by the dates on them, they were made about 24 years ago. There were loads in the folder, and Allie had a moment of panic. Would Aria know that Allie had seen this file? Should she watch them? The obvious answer was no, these were Aria's videos and they may be private or personal to her. But then again, she was curious. So she made a decision. She would watch three, and then she'd shut down the laptop and do some extra studying until Aria and Ezra returned. Allie clicked on one dated from April 2008 **(The April before Ali went missing)** entitled 'Frat Party Preparation' and watched it pop up and begin to play.

_Hi! This is Aria Montgomery reporting. The date is April 17__th__ 2008 and we're getting ready to go to a frat party!" The excitement in Aria's voice was clear._

"_Must you do that at the start of _all_ your videos, Aria? You sound like Spencer," a girl with long wavy blond hair said to the camera._

"_Hey!" Another girl said in a mock-offended way. This girl was wearing big, black, studious-looking glasses and a long, dark blue skirt. _

Allie gave a small gasp as she recognised her mother.

"_Hey, Ali, what do you think of this?" asked a younger version of Hanna, pulling out a hot pink dress from the wardrobe._

"_I don't think you could fit your big butt into it, honey," replied the girl called Ali._

"_Ali! Don't be so mean!" exclaimed Spencer, seeing Hanna's face fall._

"_What's wrong, Spence? I thought you wanted to go to this party," Ali said._

"_I do, just-"_

"_You know, I have a couple of friends I could go with instead. They asked me to go with them, but I said no. I could always ring them and tell them I changed my mind."_

"_No, Ali! We do want to come with you. We're going to have a great time," Emily said, jumping off the bed and putting the pink dress back in the wardbrobe. "Wear this instead, Hanna. It'll look good on you." She said, showing Hanna a slightly looser green dress._

_Ali smiled. "Why don't you put the camera on the dresser, Aria? Then you can be in the video too."_

The camera shuddered for a minute and then became still again as Aria came into the picture. Allie's eyes widened at the sight of Aria's pink highlights. She'd always known that Aria was a bit bohemian, but this was just a little bit weird.

"_What are you wearing, Aria?" asked Hanna._

"_I'll just wear this, I think," replied Aria, motioning to her blue dress with a criss-cross black pattern at the bottom, covered in studs up the front._

"_At least let me do your hair. I have a new pair of curlers." Said Ali._

"_I saw that new girl, Jenna, earlier. What's up with the two of you?" asked Aria._

"_Nothing. She's a jerk and a slut. Not worth our time." replied Ali. _

"_I know she and her mom have moved in with the Cavanaughs. She's Toby's new step-sister," added Emily._

"_Mmm, lucky her. She gets to put on a mask and join in squirrel scarification ceremonies with him," Ali said cattily. All the girls except Emily started sniggering._

"_We have to go in ten minutes. Aria, come here so I can curl your hair. Spencer, you need to get changed."_

_Spencer got up, picked up her dress from where it lay on the bed and headed into Ali's closet to get changed._

"_Are you not going to change with us? Honestly, you are such a prude. Not like the rest of us, hey Em?" Ali curled a last piece of Aria's hair, then turned off the curlers and pulled her top off. "Can you get my maroon top for me Em?" she asked, still sitting on the bed in her jeans and bra._

_Emily pulled the top out of her wardrobe for her and handed it to Ali. "Thanks, Em," Ali said, and winked at her._

"_I'm ready! Should we go, then?" Spencer came out of the wardrobe wearing a black and white patterned dress and a small pendant around her neck._

"_Yeah, let's go guys." Ali got up and headed out the door. "Don't forget to turn off the camera, Aria."_

"_Oh yeah." Aria came up to the lense. "This is Aria Montgomery, and we're off to have an amazing time!"_

The video stopped, signalling that it had finished, and Allie leaned back in her chair. That was weird. Who was this Ali girl? Where was she now? None of the girls had ever talked about before, but she must be important if she was bossing Aria, Hanna, Emily and her mom around and taking them to a frat party. She was named Alexandra, and Maya's middle name was Alison, so maybe one of them was named after her?

She clicked on another video, this one more recent, from 2010, entited 'Post-Homecoming 2010':

"_Em! Are you okay? What happened last night?" Aria's voice was concerned and a bit scared as she entered a large bedroom where Emily was propped up in bed with a bandage on one side of her forehead._

"_I don't really know. One minute I was running down the hallway at Homecoming, the next I woke up in a hospital bed," Emily replied._

"_Why were you screaming last night? Did Toby attack you?" asked Spencer, who had walked in with Aria._

"_I don't know. He didn't attack me, but we were talking, and I got scared. Maybe I didn't give him time to explain himself, but he told me he was going to tell me what happened last summer."_

"_And did he?"_

"_No, because I got scared and ran away from him."_

"_What is there to explain? We know that he killed Ali. He's a freak and he always has been." Spencer said scathingly._

"_I don't think he did. He was so nice to me in Chemistry. He felt like a friend I could depend on."_

"_You have friends you can depend on, us!"_

"_I know that. You guys are the best friends I've ever had. But Toby was sweet and kind to me. I don't think he's capable of murder."_

"_Whatever. The key word in that sentence is 'was', so you can't trust him anymore."_

"_I don't know who I can trust anymore. I'm sorry I ruined Homecoming for you guys." Emily said apologetically._

"_Trust me, mine was already ruined," Aria replied._

"_Yeah, mine too," added Spencer._

"_What happened?" asked Emily._

"_Melissa told Alex I was only dating him to piss off my dad, and Alex believed her. My sister is such a bitch," Spencer said angrily. "What happened to your Homecoming, Aria?"_

_Aria's cheeks went slightly pink. "I just wasn't feeling like partying, that's all," she replied after a while._

"_But that's not the important thing. Hanna went to get Jenna's file last night, which meant that she missed her coronation with Sean, and now _he's_ pissed at her. But she didn't find Jenna's, she found Toby's." Spencer paused. "Aria, can you turn your camera off? I don't really want this conversation being recorded."_

"_Sure."_ There was a blur of brown as Aria fiddled with the record button, and then once again the video stopped.

Allie breathed out heavily, staring at the screen. It was nice, being able to see her mother and what she was like back then, but their lives sounded really complicated. And the idea of her mother hating her father was upsetting. At least she knew what had become of Ali: she had been killed. Maybe her or Maya was named after her. But Allie was sure her father hadn't killed her. The kind, sweet guy that Emily had talked so fondly about would never do anything like that, right?

Maybe one more video would give her the answers she needed. She clicked on her third and final video, which was entitled 'Our Spoby'. Whatever _that_ meant.

_There was giggling from behind the camera. _

"_Shh!" came Emily's voice. "They'll notice if we're too loud."_

_There was a little more giggling, and then only the soud of breathing as the camera and the three girls behind it moved closer to a brown door in front of them. Slowly and quietly, they opened it, and peered in as much as they could get away with without the people inside seeing them._

_Inside the room, which appeared to be a kitchen/sitting room (Spencer's house, judging from the family portrait on the wall of two brunette girls and their parents against a white background), Spencer and a tall, muscled guy with brown hair were playing Scrabble on the coffee table._ As the guy looked up, Allie saw that it was her father, and she smiled, her heart swelling.

"_So you can put down 94 points for me." Toby's voice was soft and quiet, and his eyes were focused on Spencer, waiting for her reaction._

"_Right. Okay. My turn." She scanned the almost-full board, and then her almost-empty rack of letters, her eyes switching between the two until her brow furrowed and she was gripping her scalp with her fingers._

_They were sitting there for about 10 minutes until Spencer gave a heavy and aggravated sigh. "I give up. How do you do it? How can you beat me at this game? No one else can beat me at this game!"_

_Toby just gazed at her and smiled._

"_How do you do it? What's the secret? Tell me, Toby Cavanaugh, or I swear I'll-"_

"_What'll you do, Spence?"_

_Her face went blank as she thought, and then her face became mischievous. "I know exactly what I'll do."_

_Toby's face stayed the same, but Allie could detect that he was a little scared._

"_And what's that, exactly?"_

_Spencer smirked, and then sat down next to him on the couch and whispered something in his ear that made his eyes widen._

_He looked at her. "You wouldn't." He said, but Spencer just nodded._

"_Yes I would." And she got up, and headed for the door, grabbing his keys from the counter as she went._

_Toby was quicker though, and blocked the doorway to the front door with ease. "You wouldn't. You can't drive my truck. You know that truck is my baby."_

"_Really? So if the truck is your baby, then who's its mother?"_

_Toby face became softer and more passionate. "You know there's only one person I'd ever want to mother my children. Our children."_

_This was too much for Spencer, who just grabbed him and crashed her mouth to his. Meanwhile, Hanna, Aria and Emily were still videoing the whole thing from behind the door._

"_Aww!" swooned Emily, as Hanna hissed "Why can't Caleb be as cute and romantic as Toby?"_

"_Look at our Spoby!" whispered Aria._

_Toby broke off the kiss, leaning his forehead against Spencer's. "You know your friends are hiding behind the door and videoing us, don't you?" he asked._

"_What?!" exclaimed Spencer. "Aria, Hanna and Emily, if you are watching this, I will kill you!" She ran towards the door like a madwoman, leaving Toby laughing in the kitchen._

"_Run!" hissed Hanna. "Go! Come on!" The three girls started running like mad up the stairs. "Aria! Turn that thing off and hide it! She'll delete the video if she finds it!"_

Five more seconds of running and hurried whispering and the video had finished. And although the third video hadn't helped much at all, it was her favourite of the three, because even though it looked like her mother had hated her father at one point, she had also fallen in love with him at one point too, and even though Allie didn't know her mother at all, she knew that her mother would never marry a murderer.

She shut down the laptop, and grabbed a couple of math revision books from her bag by the front door, but for the first time in her life, she couldn't concentrate. Everytime she tried to think about circle theorem and algebra, her mind came back to her parents and the blond girl called Ali in the first video, the one who seemed to control the girls like a puppet master. All this was driving her brain insane right now.

* * *

At 10:06 exactly, Ezra and Aria Fitz arrived back at their apartment to find Caspian sound asleep in bed... and Allie sound asleep on the couch using an algebra book as a pillow.

"Get the car keys," Ezra told Aria, and then he carefully lifted Allie into his arms and carried her to their car to take home.

* * *

Don't hate me, but don't expect an update before next weekend at least I still have so much homework to do :(


	6. Recovery

**A/N –** I have a poll on my profile! *hint hint* ;)

I've had like two reviews since last chapter. I need to know about the Taylor situation, people! And seriously, two reviews is a bit pathetic. Thank you so much to those lovely people who did review, though. You may feel free to send me any requests you have, and I'll seriously consider them. The rest of you, however... *gives evil glare*

If you have ay questions about the story, plot or characters or just want a nice long talk about PLL, let me know!

**HarrylovesGinny09 –** Thank you!

**RedDiamonds1234 –** You're welcome ;) and thanks for reviewing!

**OneDirection2013 –** Unfortunately I haven't :( one of my friends once caught a snowball that Zayn threw into the audience at one of their concerts once, though. She's lucky. How about you?

**ThatKidFromSchool –** Here's the field hockey chapter! I was also playing tennis today, and I thought 'Allie should so be a pro at tennis.' Then I remembered that Spencer actually does play tennis in the show! So there might be some Allie-at-the-country-club chapters coming up. Maybe.

I don't wike maths either. It's hard. And Millie is a be-yotch. Luckily, she's out of the picture for good, so we won't be seeing her again. Wish I could say the same for a certain few people I know :( Oh well. Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

It was Monday morning, and Allie strolled onto the field hockey pitch, enjoying the sun shining down and warming her face. She had her hockey stick bag across the shoulder, and she was dressed in the blue-and-white Rosewood High kit.

She joined the group of about 10 girls in the middle of the pitch, and looked around. She'd never played in a team or squad before, so she didn't know quite what to expect. She was first introduced to field hockey in 2nd Grade, when her Uncle Jason tried to latch her onto it, knowing that Spencer always used to play field hockey when she was that age. Ever since then, Allie had been practising in the garden with an old practice stick that Jason had give her (he said it used to belong to a friend of his) whenever she could. Jason had bought her a new stick as a congratulations-for-starting-high-school present, and she'd bought the uniform with Paige two days before term started, but this was the first time she'd actually played field hockey at school, so she was very excited.

She was so lost in thought that by the time she snapped back to reality, the new field hockey coach had already introduced herself, and was now telling them about field hockey matches that she'd scheduled for the rest of the semester. Allie used her great multitasking skills, and managed to listen while examining the new coach. She was tall, with long legs and long brown wavy hair. Allie decided that she liked her until further notice, and stood up a little straighter.

She was so ready for this.

* * *

"Allie? Is that you?" Emily's voice rang out as Allie unlocked the front door 2 and a half hours later.

"Yes." She went through into the living room, and sat down on the couch, exhausted. The past couple of hours had been fun ad fulfilling, but they had left Allie sweaty and exhausted.

"Is Maya with you?"

"She went to go give Mrs Ivine her mail; it must have been delivered to us by mistake."

"Oh, Okay. We're having Chinese chicken salad for dinner, is that okay? Paige'll be back in an hour, and we could all eat then."

"Sure. Sounds great." Allie pulled herself off the couch and carried her bag upstairs. She started o her chemistry homework, but her mind kept straying. Emily had once told her that she used to be in a chemistry class with Allie's dad. She'd also told her that her parents had known each other for years, but only started to become close when her mother started tutoring her father for French. Allie supposed that was why she liked French so much.

If only she knew how much more complicated than that it was.

Then she started thinking about the videos again. She loved seeing her parents (even though it was obvious there were way more videos of her mother than of her father) laughing, joking and just being teenagers. Watching them made her forget that they weren't in her life right now, that they were actually hundreds if not thousands of miles away God-knows-where doing God-knows-what.

She finished the question she was on, and headed back downstairs. Even though she _never _left her homework half-finished, she couldn't concentrate. She had to talk to Emily.

* * *

So this was just a filler chapter. Next one is also a filler, but the one after that is significant, so watch out for it!


	7. House With A Blue Front Door

**A/N –** I'm back, bitches! Yes, and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AMOUNT OF REVIEWS! 7 IN ONE CHAPTER IS AN ABSOLUTE RECORD FOR ME, SO THANK YOU! Feel free to submit any requests or questions to me, you lovely people :D

Coming up in upcoming chapters:

Allie meets an all-too-familiar face at the supermarket

A meeting at The Brew between the liars (except Spencer, of course)

A family meeting between one of the liar's families

A drunk Maya ;)

A party (yay!)

Catrin will be introduced :)

**Announcement: Catrin is a new character that will be introduced either next chapter or in the one after. Pictures of her are on my profile; if anyone can guess who her parents are, you will be rewarded! (She's 12 years old).**

* * *

"Mommy Emily? Can I talk to you?" Allie said the second her foot touched the polished floorboards at the bottom of the stairs.

"Umm.." Emily's voice sounded half-hearted, as though she were in the middle of something, ad as Allie reached the kitchen, she could see that Emily was busy filling out a form for something or other. "Hang on." She ringed an answer on the paper and signed her name in flowing cursive. "What is it, honey?"

"Uh." Allie sat down at the kitchen table opposite Emily. "Can you tell me more about Mom and Dad?"

Emily looked up. Allie had her full attention now. "What do you want to know?"

Allie twiddled her thumbs in her lap. "Where are they?"

Emily remained indifferent, but Allie saw the surprise in her eyes. "I've told you already, Allie. They're working out of state."

"For 15 years?" Allie said disbelievingly. "Why didn't they bring me with them? You'd think they'd at least try to contact me!"

"Allie," Emily said, standing up and coming over to Allie. "Your parents loved you. They still do. Just because they can't contact you does not change that. They will come back for you, I know that they will."

"But-"

"Trust me." Emily's tone was firm but gentle, and signified the end of the topic. "Can you go and find Maya? She won't have time for her homework if she dosn't get back soon."

"Of course," Allie replied. She wasn't fully satisfied with Emily's response, but she could tell that she wasn't going to tell her any more. If only she could watch some more of those videos...

Nonetheless, she headed next door to find Maya, and found herself staring (as she often did when she was walking pasting it) at the pretty house next door. She never saw anyone go in or out of it, but she thought it was the prettiest house she'd ever seen. It wasn't painted, so you could see the bricks, but it had a lovely white porch with a blue front door with a white frame, and a small hedge that ran along just behind the street. It was beautiful.

"Someday, I'm going to live there," she thought to herself, as she carried on down the street to Mrs Irvine's house.

If only she knew how true that was.

* * *

**Sorry! Another shortie... Next one is longer, I promise!**

**OneDirection 2013 –** You're so lucky! I live in England, so I can't go :( You'll have to tell me how it goes! And yes, I'm going to see their movie in the summer; there's no way I could miss that!

**Guest –** Thank you! There's at least two candidates for the ******* that I can thik of, so I don't kow exactly who you mean. To give you a special 'thank you for reviewing" hit, I can tell you it's not Spencer. She's still wherever-the-hell-she-is with Toby, trying to bring down 'A'. That should narrow it down for you! ;)

**mrs-cavanaugh –** Thanks! And yes, it is :) you'll find out who it is in the next chapter!

**HarrylovesGinny09 –** Thanks! :)

**ThatKidFromSchool –** I know exactly what you mean! I absolutely love Spoby, but I do love that scene with Alex and Spencer dancing in the kitchen :) so cute. I love watching all the old ones, though. I must have re-watched Person of Interest more times than I can remember, and I love the scene in The New Normal with Spencer and Toby and the snow globe! Yes, that is a quote by Jessica DiLaurentis. See, you have a much better memory than me! And I always ramble, so don't worry.

**dreamcatch3r –** Of course I'll update soon :) Thank you!

**Totaldramfan123 –** Thank you! Allie isn't going to find about A quite yet, but she will soon. And thank you! I just thought 'What would Emily name her daughter? And then it came to me :)


	8. A Crash At The Store

**A/N –** Seriously? Another 7 reviews? You guys are way too good to me. Thank you so much!

None of you managed to guess who Allie meets in the supermarket, but good try! I'm giving you more time for the Catrin challenge (check out the pictures o my profile. I've replace the present-day Catrin picture, so it'll be easier now ;)

I also have no clue what the positions are in field hockey, so I'm going to assume it's the same as English hockey. Correct me if I'm wrong.

**New challenge! Guess whose family is having a family meeting next chapter! (It should be easier after you read this chapter).**

* * *

"Attention, all shoppers! This store will be closing in half an hour, so please hurry up with your purchases. Thank you!" the voice over the intercom announced. It was 4:30 on Sunday afternoon, and Paige had sent Allie to the supermarket to buy supplies for spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. She was currently holding a shopping basket, and trying to remember whether Paige wanted pork or beef mince when her phone rang. She pulled it out her pocket and looked at the screen. It was Hanna.

"Hey, Auntie Hanna!" she said joyfully. It had been a while since she'd spoken to her most glamorous aunt.

"Hi honey! How are you? I wondered if you wanted to come shopping with me next Saturday. I have a gift card for Otter; it can be an early birthday present or something."

This made Allie laugh. "Umm, Auntie Hanna? It's not my birthday until March."

"No, I know, but you need to come anyway. Aria's been talking about plans to take you shopping, and I had to intervene. I love Aria and everything, but if it was up to her you'd be wearing curtains and studded belts for the next year." The disgust in Hanna's voice was clear, and Allie cracked up laughing again.

"Yeah, I'll come with you, Auntie Hanna, but you don't need to use your gift card on me, it's okay. Do you happen to know if Paige prefers beef or pork? It's just that-"

"-Paige sent you to the store and now you can't remember?"

"Exactly! When you become so smart?"

"I've always been smart, darling. Not all of us are related to Spencer, you know, but we still have brains!"

"So, pork or beef?"

"Go with pork. I think she likes pork better."

"Okay. Thanks Auntie Hanna!" Allie grabbed a plastic container of pork mince, put it in the bag, and then walked quickly around the corner.

Maybe a little too quickly, because she crashed straight into an oncoming trolley.

"Auntie Hanna? Can I call you back later?"

"Sure. Just don't wait too long, or you'll be pulling on the curtains by next week." There was a click from Hanna's end, and then Allie but the phone back in her pocket. "I'm so sorry!" Allie said to the woman with the trolley. "I should have been looking where I was going."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm sorry for crashing into you." The woman replied. Allie made to carry on walking, but the woman called her back. "Hey, are you on the Rosewood Day field hockey squad?"

"Yeah, why?" Allie was confused. Then she realised that the woman standing in front of her was actually her hockey coach. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

Her coach laughed. "It's okay."

Allie felt embarrassed to ask, but she knew she had to. "I'm really sorry, but I didn't hear your name at the meet, would you mind reminding me?"

The woman smiled. "Well, at least you're polite about it. I'm Melissa Hastings, but it's 'Coach' to you. The question is, what's your name? You're really good; I haven't seen someone play that well in quite a while. "

Allie brightened. "Really? Thank you! I'm Allie Cavanaugh."

Those three words hit Melissa like a bucket of water. _This_ was Allie? Where were Spencer and Toby then? Where did they live? It was obvious that Melissa's name had no effect on her, so Spencer can't have told her that she had a sister. That hurt her. After all these years, did her sister still hate her?

"What position do you play, Allie?"

"Centre forward. Why?"

"I might be considering you for the match next month. I'll let you know. Bye, Allie." She walked off with her shopping trolley, and Allie was left standing in the vacuum-packed meat aisle, wondering how she got so lucky.

* * *

Melissa, on the other hand, had a billion questions running through her head. She needed to talk to someone who knew as much as she did, and try to figure this out. And she had the perfect person, or rather, _people_, in mind.

* * *

**ShadowsOnTheMoon –** Thank you so much! Seriously, it's people like you who keep me writing. Yeah, I'm not American, I'll admit it. I'm actually English :) which means that people aren't as into PLL as they are in America. In fact, I only know six people who've actually ever heard of it, but I absolutely love it. And this is the start of a conversation with you through reviews. I'm really weird too, don't worry. And I'm not announcing the winners of the Catrin challenge yet, but I will next chapter ;)

**OneDirection2013 –** Thanks! I can't wait either. What's your favourite 1D song? Just out of interest :)

**ThatKidFromSchool –** I won't tell you if you're right or wrong yet, but that was a good guess. Thanks! It took me forever to think her name up. I haven't writte it yet, but I can so imagine a drunk Maya! And just for you, I'll actually make her say that line :) I remember lots of quotes too. I absolutely love watching 'Who Said It?' videos on youtube! I end up screaming out the answers because I'm way too obsessed with this show and know all the lines, and then my sister is like 'What the hell are you doing?' lol. She's a moody one. She's 8 years old, but acts like a teenager. And I thought I was supposed to be the teenager! It wasn't Jenna or Hanna, as you just read (except the phone call), but Jenna will definitely be in this story. And absolutely! SPOBY FOREVER! :D

**DedicatedToSpoby –** That would actually be quite a cool idea, if it was Spencer. I might have to employ you as my 'thinking up cool ideas' person :) I will keep updating!

**Totaldramfan123 –** Thank you! I do love it when I can write really long chapters, but sometimes I get stuck, ad then I write short chapters :( oh well. Wren will be in this story. You're the first one to know about this, but I like Wren, he's pretty cool, but I just don't like Wrencer. I also don't like when everyone makes Wren into a paedo/sexual harraser/general annoying needy Spencer-obsessed freak. In this story, he may be a jerk sometimes, but he's not going to be after Spencer. Plus, I was born and grew up in the same town as Julian Morris! How cool is that? :D About 'A', Mona isn't 'A' right now, 'cause she's kind-of helping the liars and their families out by helping Spencer and Toby along with Holden. In fact, no one is right now, because 'A' has calmed down for now. But we know that 'A' always has a way of resurfacing, don't we? ;)

**ms-everlarks –** Thank you! I'll update soon, I promise! :)

**RedDiamonds1234 –** Thank you! Of course I will!


	9. Come Dine With The Hastings'

**A/N –** **Heya! C'est moi, avec une chapter pour vous!**

**Challenge for this chapter**: Not as such a challenge, more of a 'review with your suggestions and requests, and I'll seriously consider them' thing

Thank you to **ThatKidFromSchool**, **dreamcatch3r **and** ShadowsOnTheMoon** for voting! All of you were close, but ShadowsOnTheMoon got Catrin's father spot-on! Well done!

**DedicatedToSpoby – **You're welcome! I'll keep updating. And you were very close with the Spencer/Melissa thing :)

**Guest –** That's just how they are, sorry! Last chapter was meant to be longer, but somehow it wasn't... I'll make this one a lot longer. Sorry again!

**Onedirection2013 –** I think 'Everything About You' from Up All Night, but I also like 'Tell Me a Lie' and 'Kiss You'. I like all of them. Do you happen to know if they're making a third album/when it's coming out if they are?

**Dreamcatch3r – **You're right! Somebody's on their A game! Anyway, you were really close with the Catrin thing. I was thinking of making Spencer and Toby have a baby while they're wherever-the-heck-they-are, but they can't really, it would be too risky for A to kidnap the baby or something. That's also the reason that Spencer and Toby can't be sent photos from Emily of Allie, in case A finds out they have a daughter. So good idea, but no :( Thank you for the long review! :)

**HarrylovesGinny09 –** Thank you! :)

**Guest –** Thank you! It's so hard to find other English PLL fans, so I'm glad I found you. Well, technically you found me, so thanks! I'll try and update at the weekend, promise!

* * *

Melissa Hastings didn't go home that night. Instead, she stayed in Rosewood, and headed for the house which housed two of the only people who voiced her opinions.

Her parents.

Pulling into the driveway, Melissa glanced towards Jason's house. She hadn't visited him in a while. She hoped he was okay, and coping.

She unlocked the door, and looked around, hopig to catch sight of them. They were always taking trips around the nearby states, or to different countries, and you could never be sure when they'd be home or not.

"Mom? Dad? Are you here?"

There came the sound of footsteps upstairs, and then Veronica came down the stairs. "Melissa? What are you doing here, honey?"

Melissa put her handbag down on the counter, and then turned around to face her mother. "I need to talk to you."

* * *

The room was silent. Melissa sat on the futon, while her parents sat on the loveseat in front of her. The atmosphere was tense, and Melissa played with a Tiffany's bracelet on her wrist. She really didn't know how to begin this conversation.

"What's the matter then, Melissa? Why did you want to talk to us?"

This was it, then, she supposed. _Showtime_.

"I think Spencer might be back."

Peter's eyes widened, while Veronica looked startled for a second, quickly changing her expression to a frown. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I-"

"She's been gone for fifteen years now, why would she come back now?" Peter asked.

"Dad, if you would let me finish, I'll explain. Earlier today, I was at the store, and... you know I took that field hockey coach position at Rosewood High?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"There was this girl in the squad. Brown hair, eyes like azure crystals, the most incredible field hockey skills I've seen since..."

"Oh my God." Veronica's hands started to shake. "Alexandra?"

Melissa nodded. "Yes, Mom. It was her."

"How do you know?" Peter asked, his face pale.

"I met her in the store this afternoon. I nearly ran her over with my trolley, and we got talking."

"Just tell me." Veronica asked. "What's she like?"

"She's smart. She's a true Hastings, I can tell. She's funny, and kind, and cares about others. And she's really beautiful, Mom."

Veronica's face crumpled up a little, and a single tear swept down her cheek. Peter pulled his wife closer and held her while she silently cried. "Have you actually seen Spencer or Toby though?" he asked.

Melissa gently flicked the charm bracelet on her left hand, and watched the tiny silver ornaments swing back and forth. "No. I'm just assuming they're back. I mean, they have to be, right? I know Spencer well enough to know that she would never leave her daughter without a reason, and neither would Toby."

"You don't know that, Melissa."

"No, I don't. But I know that Spencer would never marry someone who cared more about himself than his children."

Veronica sat up, and wiped the last tear from her cheek as if it was never there. "You know that you can't just expect to pick up where we left off all those years ago. Spencer is still mad at us, and she won't talk to you. You need to stay away from her, and Alexandra."

Melissa was growing impatient now. She could feel the anger bubbling inside her like a volcano. "You know what, Mother? I don't get you. First you're crying over Spencer like you truly cared about her, and now you're telling me to stay away from her? You never cared about her, did you? Never knew enough about her life to know more than just what you wanted to see. That's why she's not talking to you. She has a new family now, one that actually cares enough about her to be able to tell when she's hiding her emotions."

"Melissa, that's enough." Peter said sternly. Veronica, however, joined in the argument.

"You treated her just as badly as we did, Melissa. You think we're proud of that? How we were hardly ever there for her when she needed us most? I hate it. I hate that I wasn't good enough of a parent for her, but you weren't good enough of a sister to her, either. She hates you just as much as she hates us, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. But I'm going to make it up to her. Did you know, when I told Allie my name, that she didn't respond? Not at all. Spencer hasn't even told her that we exist, that's how much she hates us. But that's not going to stop me from trying to be there for Allie as much as I can. Maybe someday Spencer will forgive us. But we're going to have to work for it, and nothing good will come out of arguing about it."

Peter nodded slowly. "Okay. Together, we'll make it up to her, okay Melissa?"

"Okay."

"But don't tell her who you are. And don't ask her about Spencer or Toby. We don't know how much she knows, and if she knows that we know them, she might start asking questions. If we tell her who we are to her before Spencer does, there is no way she'll ever forgive us."

Melissa clicked her fingers in a 'eureka' moment. "I've got it! I'll check the records for my field hockey class and find out where she lives. Then we can go round later this week or something while Allie's at school, and apologise!"

Veronica hesitated. "That's risky. She might slam the door in our faces."

"Right now, though, it's the only shot we've got. I don't know about you, but I want to be a family again, and that includes Spencer, Toby and Allie."

"And Taylor."

"And Taylor, of course."

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow I'll check the class list. Then on Tuesday, say, we'll launch our plan."

* * *

**Sorry it's overdue. I have loads of schoolwork right now :( So I might not be able to update until the weekend. Sorry!**


	10. Conversation Over Coffee

Wednesday 8th May 2013

**A/N – Heya! Thankyou for all your lovely reviews, and in return, here is a new chapter :)**

**BUT HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! I know it's a little bit soon, but I've planned a sequel to this story, if anyone wants to read it. Of course, it won't be going up until I've finished this, but yeah. Now you know. Would anyone want to read it?**

**Anyone who knows me well knows that after Spoby, Driver (The Doctor/River) is one of my favourite ships, so if there's any other Doctor Who-obsessed fans like me out there, I'm planning a Doctor Who fic, which I will probably start working on soon. I have the first chapter done, so if you're interested, please tell me, and I'll upload it :)**

* * *

"So, how is everyone?" Aria asked, sitting down in a comfy brown chair at The Brew.

"Good," answered Emily, who was already sat down at their usual table in the corner. "Where's Hanna? I thought she'd be here by now."

"Something about huge sales in town, and Tory Burches, I didn't really understand, but she should be here soon."

"Oh."

There was a pause, in which Aria set her bag on the floor beside her chair, and Emily fiddled with the hem of her grey t-shirt.

"So, how's Caspian?" Emily asked.

"He's good. Actually I wanted to ask-"Aria was cut off as the third member of their group arrived, armed with enough shopping bags to knock someone out.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late, but I couldn't miss buying a discounted pair of Miu Mius, and Ralph Lauren are having a huge sale on body lotion, and-"

"Hanna. Breathe," instructed Aria, taking 3 bags off her friend and putting them on the floor next to her own.

Hanna sat down on the couch next to Emily, and gave a sigh of relief. "Okay. So how are you guys?"

"Good."

"Fine."

"Seriously? You're so boring. What've you been doing all week, Aria? How's that photography thing going, Aria?"

Aria sat up a little straighter. "I finished last week, actually. But it went really well, and I may have to help out again next semester." Aria had been assisting the Hollis photography class for about a month, due to her experience in photography, and her connections to Ezra, and therefore Hollis.

"How about you, Em?"

"Umm... I got a job."

"That's great, Em! Where is it?"

"At Rosewood High. I'm going to be an assistant swim coach to start off with, but we'll see how things go. I'm also leading a LGBTQ group there."

"A LG-what?" asked Hanna.

"Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. Basically a group for anyone other than straight."

"Woah. They never had that when we were there," commented Aria. "It could have been useful."

"With Tamborelli as vice principal? Seriously? Thank god he's not there anymore."

"If he was, I hope the group would whip his ass. He deserves it," Hanna added, and they laughed.

Through their laughter, however, Aria saw the way Emily's eyes would sometimes stray to the flight of stairs behind them, where Toby and eventually Spencer lived before they got married and moved back to Toby's old house, after his parents had retired to Philadelphia and Jenna had moved out.

"It's okay to miss them, you know," she said to her. "I do. All the time."

"And me," added Hanna. "I wish they were here with us right now. I miss Spencer's sense of humour."

"I wish Allie had the chance to know what amazing people her parents are," sighed Emily.

"It sounds awful to say this, and I really don't believe it, but do you ever think that maybe, just maybe... they aren't coming back?" asked Aria.

"What do you mean?" asked Hanna. "Of course they're coming back. Why would you think otherwise?"

"I'm not thinking otherwise. Just, they've been gone for nearly 15 years now, and all we hear from them is letters. Not one call, text or e-mail. Do you think they're okay?"

"Of course they are," Hanna said firmly. "A may have Ian's blood all over their hands, but this is Spoby we're talking about. They can withstand volcanoes and stuff."

"With Spencer's mind, they probably could, yeah."

"And Toby's six-pack."

"And Toby's- wait, what?"

"What? I'm just saying that Spencer's husband obviously works out a lot, that's all."

"How is that relevant to this conversation at all?" Aria asked Hanna.

"Well, if Toby needs to save Spencer from a burning building, then him being strong enough to carry her is going to help, isn't it?"

After they had talked some more, the three friends took their drinks and went their separate ways. Emily went home, and stayed indoors, not knowing that in only a few short hours, the Hastings would be paying her a visit.

* * *

**Sp0bylover –** I love your name! Toby and Spencer will be coming back soon (I can't keep away from my babies for too long). I'm looking forward to that happy beautiful family moment too, and just for you, I'll make it extra cute and fluffy ;)

**HarrylovesGinny09 –** Thanks! :)

**Guest –** Thank you :)

**ThatKidFromSchool –** Hmm...I've never heard of that song either. Maybe you should write it ;) I mean, who wouldn't be having the time of their life stalking their stalker? And thank you :) I'll try and update more often for you, but thanks for being so nice!

**Onedirection2013 –** Okay, thank you! I hope they make one soon :)

**DedicatedToSpoby –** Thanks! I'll give you a spoiler, just because you're so nice (not that everyone else isn't), but don't tell! Spencer and Toby will definitely be coming back. I don't know yet which chapter it'll be in, I don't think it'll be in any chapters soon, but they will come back, I promise. Shh! And I have to agree with you, badass Spoby is amazing! I love the kind-of partners-in-crime-badass-A Team Spoby thing as well. Thanks again!

**ShadowsOnTheMoon –** It's okay, I forgive you. What do you want for gussing correctly? I'll take any questions or requests you have, if you want. Thank you! I love having people to talking to about PLL; everyone here in England is boring and there isn't any other majorly-obsessed fangirls like me, so it's nice to be able to talk to you guys about it. Thanks!


	11. Let's Play a Game of Knock-Down Hastings

Sunday 9th June 2013

**A/N –** Voila! C'est moi! Sorry for the very late update, but I've been doing exams, and off on a French exchange and on a short trip to Frinton, so I haven't had much time. I hope this makes up for it :)

**Today's challenge**: Do something you absolutely love to do. Me, I'm going to watch lots of Doctor Who, because I love the Doctor, and Rose, and River, and Rory and I could go on forever about it, just like I could about PLL. If anyone's interested in a huge, deep conversation about Harry Potter, PLL or Doctor Who, you know who to ask.

**Quote of the Week (for me, anyway):** 'You should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you.'

'**A' is for A-L-I-V-E IS IN 3 DAYS! OMIGOSHICAN'TWAIT!**

* * *

_Knock knock knock._

Emily frowned, and peered out the window by the door, being very careful not to let whoever it was see her.

However, she wasn't expecting Melissa Hastings to be standing outside the front door, peering at a small gold watch on her wrist and tapping her foot against the doormat.

_Oh crap._

"Allie!" She hissed, running upstairs to find her goddaughter, who was lying on her stomach on her bed, writing a history paper.

"What is it, Aunt Emily? I really should be finishing this paper-"

"Which is, by the way, due in 2 weeks, so there's no reason you have to cram it all in now," Maya commented form her spot by the wardrobe, her knees drawn up against her chest and a copy of 'Great Expectations' resting on them.

"Lovely. Well, anyway, Jason's just texted me, and he needs you to go babysit Catrin for an hour or two," Emily fibbed. She'd have to remember to text Jason and ask him to just go along with it.

"Really?" Allie's brow furrowed. "He didn't mention it last time I was there."

"It's kind of a last-minute thing".

"Right. Tell Jason I'll be there in five," Allie replied, closing the laptop screen and slipping on a pair of blue flip-flops.

"Wait. Go out the back door." It sounded quite silly when you said it like that, but she couldn't let Melissa see Allie, and vice-versa.

As expected, Allie gave her a weird look. "Why ever not?"

"It's complicated. I think it's broken, and it could be dangerous. I need to get someone to come and have a look at it."

Allie frowned. "It seemed fine this morning."

"Please Allie, don't argue with me, just go out the back door," Emily pleaded.

Allie crossed the room and gave Emily a hug. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'll be back in an hour or so." And she headed down the stairs and through the kitchen to the back door. Emily gave a silent sigh of relief, and then turned and opened the door.

"Hi, Emily," Melissa said.

"Melissa," Emily acknowledged. "What are you doing here?"

"Cut the crap, Emily. I know Spencer's in there, and I need to speak to her. Now."

Emily tried to contain her suprise. _Why would she think Spencer would be here?_ "I really don't know what you're talking about," Emily replied.

"I know she lives here now. Maybe she has all along, I don't know, but I need to see her. Please, Emily," Melissa had a slightly desperate look on her face, and Emily didn't know what to do.

What should I do, Spencer? She thought. Should I tell her the truth? Should I lie to her? "Why would you think Spencer would live here?" Emily asked.

"I'm Allie's hockey coach. I met her in the supermarket on Sunday, and she told me that she was Allie Cavanaugh. She looks so much like Spencer and Toby that I believed her. I looked at her address on the list of contacts in the hockey office at Rosewood High, and it was down as this place," Melissa finished.

"Oh, you know Spencer. She probably put it down so no-one would find her. I'd love to see her though. We all would."

"You mean you haven't seen her?"

"Not since the day she, Toby and Allie left. We met in town earlier that day and had a coffee. She didn't mention her leaving to me, nor Aria or Hanna," Emily lied. She could feel her old ways of lying to everyone were coming back and she hated that thought, but she had to protect Spencer.

"Okay. Just... okay. Thank you, Emily," Melissa said, looking defeated. It was an odd expression for a Hastings, and somehow it didn't quite suit her, probably because Emily had never seen any of the Hastings family with that expression before.

"I'm sorry, Melissa. I truly am," Emily said quietly, but Melissa was already heading back to her car. Emily shut the door, and sank onto the ground behind it. She hated lying, but she knew she couldn't tell Melissa the truth. If Melissa knew that Spencer and Toby had gone to track down and stop A, Melissa would tell her parents, who would call the police, which would make this an even bigger problem. If that happened, maybe A would start attacking them again as payback, or worse, start killing them. That could not happen.

"Mum?" Maya called down the stairs. "Who was that?"

"No one," replied Emily. "Just some Jehovah's Witnesses. I told them we already went to church. Maybe we don't go as often as others, but we still go occasionally. Anyway, how about we just get a takeaway for dinner? I don't feel up to cooking tonight."

This made Maya worried. "Are you okay, Momma Emily? Do you want me to cook instead?"

"I'm fine. I just don't feel like it, So, takeaway?"

Maya smiled. "Takeaway it is."

* * *

**DevotedToSpoby –** I think this is you. You didn't sign your review, so I can't be sure, but never mind. You're welcome for the spoiler. You are special ;) I'm not sure about America, but at school, the word 'special' refers to special needs. Needless to say, I DO NOT mean it that way! About the Hastings... I think it'll just be Melissa, but maybe the whole clan'll come along, I don't know yet. Thank you!

**ThatKidFromSchool –** Yes! It'll be like 'Oh when the Hastings come marching in' or something. I so wish I could go in the show sometimes and tell them stuff, like 'A is watching you outside your window right now!' and 'OMIGOSH I love you soooo much!'. I'll update as soon as I can, I promise, but thanks for being so patient!

**Dreamcatch3r –** Thanks! I'll upload Chapter 1 as soon as I finish this :)

**Sleepinthekeegs –** Thank you! I can't wait for Spoby to come back either!

**Onedirection2013 –** I have seen it, and I absolutely can't wait! Of course, I have to watch it a day later than you lot because I have to wait for it to go onto the internet so I can watch it, because PLL doesn't come onto English TV, which sucks :( One Direction are adding another member? Woah. I don't really know how to react to that. As long as they're good, and fit in with the group and aren't hideously ugly, I guess it'd be okay, but I don't know. What do you think about this? And are you looking forward to Season 4? I know I can't wait!

**Katy Rivera –** Thank you! I've been stalking your profile (sorry!) and woah. Are you French? That's probably a stupid question, but your English is really good, and I've done French for 8 years now, but I could never write even a chapter of a story in French. I've decided that Maya could be bisexual, but I never thought of there being a Maya/Allie pairing. It's not your perv mind at all :) it's actually quite a good idea. I don't know if I'll put them together, but I might have Maya get really drunk and try and make out with Allie or something, just for you. That's a good idea though, I'll definitely consider it! I do consider them as sister of some sort, but they're not related, so it could work. If they were actually step-sisters, I wouldn't consider it (I'm not really fond of the whole Toby/Jenna stepsibling styled relationship, even without her raping him all the time) Thanks for the idea!

**Totaldramfan –** That's okay, I completely forgive you. I hope your cousin is okay :) And thanks! Like I said to dreamcatch3r, I'll be uploading Chapter 1 as soon as I've finished this story. I can't wait for Spoby to come back either and I'll give you a spoiler, because you're nice: A is definitely going to find out about Allie, although it might not be until the sequel. Also, would you be interested if I posted a chapter of this fic in Spoby's POV? (of them in the motel talking about A and trying to track them down and stuff) I was thinking of doing a chapter like that.


	12. The Memories of a Twelve-Year-Old

Thursday 20th June 2013

**A/N – Heya! I'm ill this week, which sucks for me, but means I get to write lots of lovely fanfiction for my lots of lovely readers, i.e. you lot.**

**I FINISH SCHOOL FOR SUMMER NEXT SATURDAY! WOO! (I got to a school that does Saturday school)**

**I'd love to see some requests. I have lots of ideas, but I haven't had any requests yet, which I'm guessing is because you like my ideas (hopefully!) but I'd love to see your ideas.**

**If you haven't seen it already, watch 'The Great Gatsby', because it is amazing and so cute. If you have, watch it again (or another film or TV show of your choice).**

**Review, and Spoby will come home (very soon!)**

* * *

"Allie! Hey Allie, come and look at this!" Catrin called from her bedroom, her voice carrying over the sound of the pouring rain that had started a few minutes ago.

"What is it, Catrin?" asked Allie, as she caught up with the energetic 12-year-old after what felt like an hour at least. "Where are you?"

"In my room. Come and see!"

Quickly, Allie left her AP French books on the counter in the kitchen and headed upstairs to Catrin's bedroom, which, although she didn't know it, used to be Alison's room. Catrin was sitting on the bed, gazing at a large handmade book on her lap.

"This is my memory book," Catrin explained, without looking up. "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure," Allie replied, sitting next to Catrin on the bed. "What's in it?"

"Mostly photos, but there's some other stuff in there too." Catrin showed Allie the front cover, which was made from lilac card, and had 'Catrin DiLaurentis', along with some flowers on it. "I made it last year. You're the first person, apart from Dad, to see it, so don't laugh or anything."

"I won't, I promise," Allie assured her.

Catrin opened the book to the first page, where there was a photo of a blonde woman sitting up in bed, holding a baby in her arms. Jason was seated on a chair next to the bed, and both of them were smiling at the camera.

"Is that your mom?" Allie asked Catrin, pointing to the blonde woman.

"Her name's CeCe," Catrin answered, nodding. "She and Dad dated in high school, but then they broke up. About a year later, they started dating again, and then they had me."

"You're parents never got married?" Allie asked gently.

"No. A few months after I was born, she left. I haven't seen her since."

"Do you know why she left?"

"She had issues that she was dealing with at the time, and she couldn't handle it. She loved me, I think. Just maybe not enough. I think Dad knows more then he's letting on about it, but I don't think I want to know."

She shook her head, as if bringing herself out of a trance, and turned the page over. "This is my Grandma and Grandpa, and Dad and my Auntie. It was taken a long time ago, before Dad started dating Mom, and before even you were born, Allie."

But Allie was too busy staring at the young blonde teenager standing in the front and smiling mysteriously at the camera. "Who's that, Catrin?" she asked, trying to sound casual about it.

Catrin frowned. "Her? That's my Auntie Alison. Dad says I look a lot like her, but they didn't get on too well. Why?"

"What happened to her?"

"She died. She was only fifteen, but she was murdered, and her body was missing for a year. They still don't know who did it. Why? Why does she matter to you, Allie?

Because this is the Ali from Aria's videos! Allie wanted to tell her. This is my mom's, Aria, Hanna and Emily's best friend! But she didn't say that, because that would mean telling Catrin that she'd snooped around on Aria's computer. What she did say was, "I need to go."

Catrin looked devastated. "No! Please don't leave! Did I say something wrong, Allie? I'm sorry. One more photo, please? Just look at one more, and then I'll put it away, I promise!"

"Is everything okay in here?" Jason asked, passing the doorway.

"No. Everything's fine, Dad," Catrin replied. "How was the meeting?"

"Boring and long. I think I'm gonna go lie down for a bit, and relax. You okay, Allie?"

Fine, Uncle Jason. Enjoy your lie-down," Allie replied as Jason left. "Okay, one more photo then. Just one."

Catrin relaxed, and gave a small but slightly scared smile. "Okay, but first I need to tell you something. Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course," Allie replied. "You can tell me anything. I won't say a word."

"Okay," Catrin snuck over to her bedroom door, closed it firmly, and sat back down on the bed. "Okay, Well, I lied to you, about the last photo."

"Huh?" Allie whipped her head to her left and stared at Catrin in confusion.

"I said that that picture was of my family, but actually, my grandpa in that picture isn't my real grandpa."

"Okay. Who's your real grandpa then?"

"I don't have a picture of him, but my real Grandpa had two other daughters. My half-Aunties. I have pictures of them." Catrin flipped through the pages until she came across one she was looking for. "Here's one of them. Dad says that even though you're not supposed to have favourites, she was his favourite."

Catrin moved her hand away, and Allie audibly gasped, for there was a photo of Jason with his arms hugging a slender brunette woman the way only an older brother could, except that this woman was tall, with mocha-coloured eyes and long wavy brown hair and an expression that Allie knew all too well; she'd seen it on her own face in photos more times than she could count. Catrin hadn't told her her half-aunt's name, but then, she didn't need to. Allie had known that name since she first learned to talk.

Spencer. Spencer Jill Cavanaugh.

"I need to go, really," she said to Catrin, trying not to sound like she was freaking out, which she was. I have to leave right now. I'm sorry. I'll come back soon, I promise." She grabbed her cardigan off the bed and hurried downstairs and out the door as fast as she could without tripping over, leaving Catrin alone in her room. With a sob, Catrin ran down the hallway and knocked on her dad's door.

"Catrin? What's the matter?" Jason asked her, but Catrin didn't answer. Instead, she just flung her arms around him and sobbed. Jason held her close for a moment while she sobbed, and then he held her at arm's length, his hands holding her shoulders.

"Now, Catrin," he said. "I want you to show me exactly what you showed Allie. Tell me everything you told her."

* * *

Outside, Allie was trying not to have a breakdown as she walked home. She usually loved having work to do and keeping busy, but this was different. She felt like her head was about to explode, and she felt angry, and confused and betrayed. She needed to confront Emily, and properly this time.

Emily had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

**ThatKidFromSchool –** Thank you! I know, I'm really bad at updating, sorry! I'd love to be able to update once a week like some people on here can, but my life is really hectic, and my house is so busy and stuff that I can't always update on time. Plus, last week, my lovely dad decided I spend too much time on my laptop and blocked virtually every website I use, including fanfiction, during the week (Monday – Friday), though I found a loophole: I just bring my laptop to school every day and use the school system, which is a pain and much slower and more annoying, but I can't live without fanfiction during the week :( I do love my dad, but it's not the best situation to be in. Regardless, I will find ways to update, I promise, not just for you, but for me too, because I'm a rebel and stuff ;) I know right! I love it when Melissa gets owned! Marlene King should put more of that into PLL. A is annoying me too, and your comment made me laugh, by the way. Spoby should have more babies. I will definitely keep that in mind!

**pally –** Thanks! I can't wait for them to come back either! I've got so many plans for how they should come back, so hopefully it'll be good! :)

**Totaldramfan123 –** Good good! My grandma was in the hospital recently, but she's okay now. There was this elderly guy who we think had a crush on her because he kept visiting her, and it was annoying her... basically the nurses had their hands full with her, because she is incredibly sick-minded, eccentric and stubborn at times. Anyway, thank you! Emily's lying habit is coming back, because neither she nor Spencer want Melissa and the Hastings parents poking their noses into the whole Allie-is-in-Rosewood-A-is-back-Spencer-and-Toby-ar e-still-out-of-state thing :)

**KooshGID –** Thank you! Glad you enjoy it!

**ShadowsOnTheMoon –** It's okay, you didn't have to. I'm just happy you like it! I'd love to talk about Harry Potter, I'm an obsessed freak, and it's hard to find people who love it as much as I do (as in, not over the internet). I mean, loads of my friends love it, but once you start reciting everyone's birthdays and other deatails like that, they think you've crossed the line into geekdom, and they don't want to listen :( so if you're up for a HP chat, I'm all for it! I loved 'A' is for A-L-I-V-E, and cant wait for Turn of the Shoe. Me and one of my other PLL obsessed friends are watching them every Wednesday now (I'm British, so I have to watch them on Wednesdays :( ) I love reading fanfiction too, and writing it, obviously. Thanks for taking my advice, even though you didn't have to, because there's no way I could've forced you, even if I'd wanted to, but who can possibly deny doing what they want to? :)


	13. Volcano Day

**Monday 8th July 2013**

**A/N – It's the summer! Yay! Lots of PLL to watch! And I've got to get a copy of 'Crushed', because I haven't read it yet (I know, it's disgraceful, isn't it?)**

**Disclaimer – If I owned something as amazing as PLL, I would not be slaving away at school in lovely but extremely rainy England.**

* * *

"Hey, Allie!" Emily called as soon as Allie walked through the front door. "How were Jason and Catrin?"

"I need to talk to you," Allie replied in a low but deadly voice.

Emily was astounded. She'd never seen Allie look so confused and angry. Usually, she was as gentle and quiet as her father, but right now she looked like she was about to rip someone apart. And apparently, that someone was her.

"What is it, Allie?"

"What is it? Oh nothing. I just found out that the 12-year-old down the road knows more about my family than I do. A 12-year-old that I have known all her life, and yet have only just found out is my cousin? Were you actually planning on ever telling me that Uncle Jason is literally my uncle? Or is this some plan you've set up to make sure I don't actually know anyone in my family?"

"Allie-"

"No! I don't know what to believe anymore. If my parents ever loved me, they wouldn't have abandoned me at six months old, and they certainly would've tried to get in contact with me in the 15 years they've been away. Is this some cover story you've made up for my parents? I'm a big girl now, Mommy Emily. I can take it. But no, you, and Mommy Paige, and even Auntie Aria and Auntie Hanna treat me like a china doll. I'm not about to break. I want to know what's going on, because this is really weird. You all know something. You, Paige, Aria, Hanna, Jason, I think even Uncle Caleb knows. It's most likely about my parents, but you're not telling me, even though it's tearing your lives apart. How can you live with that?"

Emily had to admit, if she'd been given more time to think, she would have marvelled over just how much like her mother Allie was, but right now her priority was getting Allie off the dangerously close topic of 'A', and where Spencer and Toby had really been all these years.

"Allie, listen, I-"

"I can't stand this. I need answers. I'm going out. Don't wait up for me," Allie said in a frustrated-yet-panicky sort of way, and stormed over to the front door.

That's when Emily's voice came back. "Alexandra Cavanaugh, you are 15 years old-"

"Yes, I was quite aware of that, actually."

"-I promised your parents I would always look after for you, and if you leave-"

f my parents cared so much about me, they wouldn't have left. Or they would've taken me with them. I'll see you tomorrow." Allie walked out the door, shutting it behind her. And running down the road as fast as she could before Emily could stop her. She'd have to go back for her bags later when both Paige and Emily went off for their swimming session at 7.

* * *

Emily, however, didn't know whether to panic or cry or run after Allie. She'd probably never be able to catch up with her; she may have been swimming since her kindergarten days, but Allie was a fast runner, and swimming didn't give you any advantages in running.

She knew that this time, Allie wasn't going to be let gently off the topic with an 'it's okay, your parents love you and everything will be alright'. She needed to tell Allie something, but she just didn't know what, and how much.

That's where Aria and Hanna, and possibly Jason, were going to come in.

* * *

**(Rough) Chapter Plan:**

**Chapter 13 – Allie basically blows up at Emily  
Chapter 14 – The three liars have another chat over how much Allie knows and what they should tell her.  
Chapter 15 - A check up on Allie and what she's up to away from home  
Chapter 16 – A peek into Spoby's life in Montecito :D  
Chapter 17 - Allie comes home, and wants information.**

* * *

**Apparently I Lost You/Katy Rivera –** Thank you! That really means a lot to me. I love Jason too, he and Toby are my favourite guys in PLL, and I would love to be Spencer so I could have Jason as a brother and Toby as a boyfriend. That would be perfection. And I love your new name by the way!

**Onedirection2013 –** Thankyou! It makes me really happy that people like this story as much as you do. Of course I've been keeping up with Season 4, which I think sounds pretty good so far, but much as I'm liking Jakeria, I think it's quite obvious that Ezria will get back together, and while I don't mind Ezria, I'm still holding out hope for Jaria... I love that Spencer's helping Toby out with all this stuff about his mum, it's really cute, and Hanna's story this season sounds really good. How about you? What are you liking/not liking of Season 4?

**Totaldramfan123 –** Thanks! Allie is going to confront Emily, but I'm going to make it bigger and better than last time so it's not all repetitive, but Allie actually knows stuff this time, so Emily's can't really get away with telling her nothing. Spencer and Toby... as for them, I have a chapter of hat they're up to vaguey planned out, so I may put it up next chapter, but if not, definitely the chapter after, I promise ;)

**ThatKidFromSchool –** I must say, you are my most entertaining reviewer, and your reviews always make me laugh. Emily does indeed have some splainin to do, because Allie's not gonna leave this alone until she gets an answer. She's like her mother in that way :) I know right? She just kinda freaked out, and freak out poor Catrin a bit. I'm a lazy updater too. I just find it hard taking the effort to start chapters off, but after that, I'm fine. I go on fanfiction like everyday, because I have pretty much no life, so yeah, but I understand completely. I always think to myself 'Oh yeah, I must update this week', and then I never do, because I'm lazy ;) Admittedly, I didn't think of the idea of CeCe going with Spoby or A... that's quite a good idea. At the moment, she's just gone as in, left-and-gone-somewhere-totally-random-but-isn't-i n-the-story, but I quite like CeCe, so I may bring her back. Thanks for idea! And Spoby babies are so cute... but that's spoilers (seen Doctor Who?), so I can't really say right now. Maybe in the sequel there'll be a new addition to the family, but I haven't really decided yet. I'll let you know!

**KooshGID –** Thankyou! I can't wait either. I usually write replies to reviews before I write the actual chapter, so I haven't started Chapter 13 yet, but I bet it'll be fun with all the angst and everything!

**DedicatedToSpoby –** It's okay! I know I should update more frequently, and I finish school this week for the Summer, so I'll make a huge effort to update more, I promise! Yes, Emily's lying again, and Allie's found out about her extended family! I'll put up the new chapter by this time next week, hopefully. It's okay, because I do that, like, all the time. I never sign off fanfiction, because I never actually shut down my laptop, I just put it to sleep because I get too tired to turn it off :)

**Guest –** Thankyou! I'm hoping it is a good thing! I'll try and keep them that way ;)

**Kayson3259 –** I'm really glad you like this :) I really love your stories, so when I saw I had a review from you, I felt like a celebrity had just reviewed my story! My mum and one of my sisters have birthdays in March (on the 13th and 31st), but I'm in February, which I love, but I would love to have a lovely sunny birthday one year. Don't worry, I would never leave an update that long without a VERY good reason, which I don't have right now, especially because school has broken up now and I have like 11 week of pretty much nothing. I have so many fanfics to update, but I'm more obsessed with PLL and Doctor Who right now than Harry Potter, so I'm concentrating on my PLL fics. I'm also a 'grammar nazi', as you put it (I really like that phrase!), but I can't stand bad grammar, and hate it when I read through stories, and words are spelt wrong, or they've used apostrophes incorrectly, so I consider that a compliment. Thank you so much!


	14. Now, What To Do About Allie?

**A/N – Heya! C'est moi! ****Thank you for all your lovely reviews, favourites and follows, which are really appreciated. I still can't believe I have over 80 reviews for this story, when I have like 2 or three for most of my other stories. Thank you so much!**

**I HAVE A POLL ON MY PROFILE CONCERNING THE SEQUEL (IF YOU GUYS WANT ONE). PLEASE VOTE! I PERSONALLY WOULD LOVE TO WRITE A SEQUEL, BUT I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU WOULD READ IT!**

**I had really bad butterfingers for this chapter, so if you see any mistakes, please forgive me!**

**Disclaimer – I AM NOT MARLENE KING. Sometimes I wish I was, but unfortunately, 'I want never gets', as the saying goes. Or in this case anyway.**

* * *

Aria was on her way out when her phone buzzed. Pulling out the charger, she tapped in her password and read the message:

_**Emily: SOS**_

She smiled grimly. Since Spencer had left, Emily had been the one sending around SOSs when necessary. Aria was slightly worried for Emily, but it was great timing on her part. She sent a reply:

_**Aria: Got your SOS. Shall we meet at The Brew?**_

Emily immediately sent a reply:

_**Emily: Sure. I'll tell Hanna xx**_

Aria smiled quickly at the screen. Spending time with her best friends sounded good, even if it was important and something potentially dangerous had happened. She tucked her phone into a side pocket of her bag and left the apartment.

* * *

When Hanna's phone vibrated, she was singing loudly in the shower, and didn't hear it. Nor did she hear the second time. The fact that she'd left it in the living room wasn't much either, as she belted out another verse of Taylor Swift, rinsing shampoo out of her hair.

"Hanna!" came Caleb' voice from the living room, but Hanna, oblivious to all at the moment, didn't hear.

"HANNA!" he yelled. If Hanna was listening, she would have heard his footsteps coming up to the door, and the sound of knocking. "Hanna, your phone keeps buzzing! HANNA!"

Luckily she heard him after the last 'HANNA!' and, with one last wring of her hair, grabbed a towel and stepped out onto the mat.

"Okay, Caleb, give me five minutes!"

Ten minutes later, Hanna exited the bathroom, and headed to the living room, where her phone was buzzing yet again, and Caleb was nowhere to be found. Dismissing the thought for now, she grabbed her phone and checked her inbox.

_**Emily: SOS**_

_**Emily: Hanna! Where are you?**_

_**Emily: Hanna, this is urgent. Please meet me at The Brew, we have a situation.**_

_**Emily: HANNA! **_

Hanna sighed, and wrote out a reply for Emily.

_**Hanna: Calm down, I'm here. Give me 10 mintues, and I'll be there. Is Aria coming? **_

There was a '_ping_!' as a reply came in. Hanna glanced down at it.

_**Emily: Yes, and Jason.**_

Hanna had no idea why Jason was meeting them there, but Emily would probably explain when she got there. For now, she went to the cupboard in the hall, and pulled down a pair of pink heels from a shelf.

"Caleb, honey, I'm just going to see Emily!"

There was a pause, and then she heard Caleb shout from upstairs.

"Okay! See you later, babe!"

Grabbing her bag from the counter, Hanna checked her phone once more, and then took off.

* * *

If Jason was honest, he hadn't expected Emily's 'SOS' message, and so didn't really know the protocol for what to do.

_**Jason: Are you okay? Do you want me to meet you?**_

Emily's reply was quick, as though she was in a hurry:

_**Emily: Meet me and the girls at The Brew ASAP. I think you know what this is about.**_

Of course. It was about Allie, and the photo album. Catrin was still blaming herself over that, even though Jason had told his daughter that it was an honest mistake, and in no way her fault.

_**Jason: Okay, sure.**_

Then he paused. He'd rather not bring Catrin along, so he'd need time to drop her off at a friend's first.

_**Jason: I'll be there in half an hour. I need to drop off Catrin at her friend's house. I don't really want to bring her, and I can't leave her on her own.**_

Emily replied quickly, her message coming in less than fifteen second after he'd sent his.

_**Emily: That's fine. Take all the time you need. See you soon!**_

Smiling at Emily's thoughtfulness, Jason put his cell face down on the counter before heading to the bottom of the stairs.

"Catrin! Can you come here a moment please?"

There was a sound from upstairs, like CDs being shuffled, and then Catrin emerged onto the stairs, pulling her ear-buds from her ears and wrapping the lead around her iPod. "What is it, Dad?"

"I need to go to the office to sort a few things out, so I'll take you to a friend's house the next few hours. Who do you wanna go to?" He felt bad for lying to his daughter, but he knew the truth would just cause her to start freaking out again.

"Ummm..." Catrin thought for a moment. "Can you take me to Maria's house please?"

"Sure. Let's get going then. Put your shoes on."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they pulled up beside a medium-sized, red-brick house with flower baskets hanging down by the door. Jason didn't know many of Catrin's friend's parents, but he did know Maria's, and they got along fine, after they'd agreed to push aside whatever they or their siblings may have against each other.

Skipping up to the porch, Jason following behind, Catrin rang the doorbell, and an old-fashioned 'ding-dong' sound rang out. There was a few moments' silence, and then a dark-haired girl of about 15 opened the door. She was frowning, but the minute she saw, Catrin, she brightened up.

"Catrin! What are you doing here? Maria didn't mention you were coming round."

Catrin smiled back with a comfortable ease, and replied, "Hey Cassidy. Is Maria in?"

Cassidy smiled back. "You know it's 'Cass' to you, and I'm not sure. Maria!" She yelled back into the house, and after a confirmation by Maria somewhere back inside the house, turned back to Catrin. "Yep, she's in. Do you wanna come in?"

"Would that be alright? It's just I've got a couple of work things to cover, and..."

"Yeah, that's fine. Mom's not here right now, but it's fine, she loves Cat," Cassidy reassured.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should phone her up and check."

Cassidy laughed. "Seriously, it's fine, Mr. DiLaurentis, we love having Cat here."

As she finished, a younger girl came running up to the door. She looked like her sister in miniature, except with straight hair instead of wavy. "Cat? Are you staying?"

"Yes, she is," Cassidy confirmed.

"Yay! Come on, I bought some new make-up with Mom yesterday, and I wanna try it out on you!" She said excitedly, pulling Catrin inside the house.

"So I'll pick her up at 3:30, if that's okay?"

"Sure. We'll look after her."

Cassidy closed the front door and Jason turned around and headed back to the car. Personally, he didn't think that Catrin really needed to wear make-up at her age, but after a few flashbacks of his mom and Alison coming through the door loaded with bags from Maybelline and No. 7, he thought, as long as Catrin was happy, he didn't care.

* * *

It was 12:07 by the time everyone arrived at The Brew, and Emily was still worried about Allie. She hadn't returned home last night after their argument, and Emily was beginning to worry, especially since there was no clear sign that 'A' wasn't still at large.

"What's wrong, Em? Why did you call us here?" Aria was the first to speak, and Emily glanced towards Jason, who was looking distinctly out-of-place in their little gathering.

"I think Jason should explain what he knows first," she decided.

Jason leaned forwards in his armchair, and began. "Yesterday, I had to deal with some stuff down in the office, so I asked Allie to babysit Catrin for me while I was gone. But Catrin, not knowing about the boundaries we've set up for how much Allie should know, decided to show Allie her photo album. Of her family. Are you getting my drift?"

"Aria's eyes widened and she put her hands up to her mouth as if in prayer. Hanna, however, still wasn't getting it."

"her _family_, Hanna," Emily tried to prompt her, but to no avail.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. Hanna, she let slip that Spencer and Jason are siblings!" Aria explained, exasperatedly, and Hanna finally got it.

"Oh. _Oh_. That's bad. That's really bad."

"I know. After that she came home in a state. She thinks we're hiding the truth from her." Emily said.

"Well, Em, we kinda _are_ hiding the truth from her," Aria replied.

"I know that. She thinks we're hiding a chevy-truckful of other family members from her, which is true, and that we're hiding the truth about where Spencer and Toby are, which is also true."

"So basically she doesn't trust us right now."

"Well, she definitely doesn't trust me right now, that's for sure, judging on the way she hasn't spoken to me or seen me since she accusing me of covering for her parents."

"Do we know where she is?" Jason cut in.

"No. I just hope 'A' hasn't gotten to her."

Jason was quiet for a moment, and then spoke again. "You know, when Spencer and Toby left town, I didn't know why she'd left. I only found out two years later, in a letter she sent me. Why didn't she tell me from the start?"

"She couldn't tell many people without the police finding out. Your dad and her mom don't know, and neither does Melissa, although they're getting suspicious. If they ask about Allie or Spencer, deny everything, okay?"

"Okay Aria, thanks for letting Jason know, but we need to talk about Allie. What if she does something totally stupid?"

"What, like try and track down her parents in Montecito?"

"Exactly. What do we do then? She'd be an easy target for 'A' to get to, she's completely unprotected on her own, she doesn't even know about 'A', so she doesn't know how careful she needs to be. What if something happened to her? She's their only child, they've trusted us with her. How could we explain it to them if she got hurt?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Hanna inputted. "Do you think that's true?"

Emily was confused and slightly exasperated. "Is what true, Hanna?"

"That Allie's Spencer and Toby's only child. Do you think they've had time up there between shifts of 'A'-watching to, you-know, do a bit of baby-making practise?"

"Seriously Hanna?" Jason asked, repulsed. "Did you _really_ just bring that up, out of all the things to talk about? This is my _sister_ we're talking about here! I really did not want that image in my head..."

"Somehow, I don't think a baby would help an awful lot with their lifestyle, which is precisely the reason they left Allie with me," Emily told Hanna.

"Woah, Em. Since when did you become a Hastings?" Aria asked jokily.

"Since our resident Hastings decided to go 'A'-watching', as Hanna puts it, for 15 years, and leave us to sort out everything else." Emily replied, sounding sad and slightly angry. Letting out a deep sigh, she relaxed, and looked round at everyone. "I'm sorry. It's that Spencer and Toby trusted me with Allie, and this situation just makes me feel like I've failed them."

"Of course you haven't failed them, Em. This is our fault too." Hanna said comfortingly.

Emily sniffed. "How so?" She replied.

"Well, for one thing, it's Catrin's fault for showing Allie that picture..."

"Hey!" Jason said. "My daughter is twelve, okay? This is not her fault."

"You know I was just joking, Jason. But seriously, Em, I don't know how, but this is our fault too. I'm gonna share your fault, even if you don't like it, so now I'm equally guilty."

"Thanks, Hanna," Emily smiled, hugging her friend. Jason and Aria looked on.

"Did I just walk into a major chick-flick or something?" Jason joked to Aria. Aria gave a snort of laughter.

"Hey!" Hanna exclaimed. "How about Caleb can track down Allie's cell? She did bring her phone with her, right?"

"Yeah," Emily replied, brightening. "That's actually a really good idea. Thanks Hanna! Hopefully she's just at an inn or something, and I won't have to worry."

"Okay," Aria said, getting up. "Now that's all sorted, shall I go grab us some coffee?"

Emily laughed. "Okay, Aria. You're starting to sound like Spencer, with your coffee addiction."

"Hey! I'm not half as bad as Spencer when it comes to coffee," Aria replied, giggling, and she headed to the counter, happy that everything was sorted out. For now, anyway. The whole situation still felt like a Jenga tower; stable at the moment, but which the promise that everything could come tumbling down at the slightest move.

* * *

**Woah! 7 pages of Microsoft Word! Hope it's worth it!**

**Onedirection2013 –** I agree! This season is looking good so far. I'm loving Jakeria, and Spoby's search to find out what happened to Toby's mum is sounding really interesting. I only wish that Jason would come back :( I love Jason. Anyway, I think I know when the One Direction Film is coming out (30th or 31st August). Is that about right? Although if you're American it may be different... anyway, I hope it's good!

**ThatKidFromSchool –** I know! I can't wait to write that one! I write one chapter at a time though, so it may take a while :( Having a life is overrated. Mine is pretty much non-existent except for writing fanfiction, so I know how you feel. I'd go crazy too if I was Allie, although I probably would've gone behind Emily's back and tracked them down myself ;) #Spobybaby! I really can't wait to write the sequel, as I seem to have way more ideas for that than for this, although I do have plenty of ideas for this right now, so that's good. I've never heard that song; what's it called? I'm always open for song suggestions. Also, you should totally try Doctor Who. I don't know if it's as popular in America as it is in Britain (I think it is, but I could be wrong. I am, after all, not American) Thank you for reviewing (as always!)

**Spobyistruelove –** Thank you so much! It's people like you who keep be writing. Well, you and the fact that I have practically no other life ;) I am planning a sequel, and I really can't wait to start it, but I'll probably end up writing about 10-ish more chapters before then. Thanks! And I love your penname, by the way!

**Totaldramfan123 –** I'm really sorry, but I'll probably not be able to update the Spoby chapter today. If I'm lucky, I'll have time to update the next chapter today, but I'm really busy the next few days. I have to go to two of my sister's sports day, my brother's sports day and induction morning and my other sister's nursery visit, plus I have a blood test on Thursday, which I am not looking forward to :( When are you getting back? I could swap around chapters 16 and 17 so that the Spoby chapter comes out when you come back. I agree with you about Emily though, all the adult characters in this story have worked out a really secretive way of bringing her up, and they haven't told her about A for fear that A will start targeting her. Thanks for reviewing, and have a lovely holiday!

**Xxil0vey0uxx –** Aww, thanks! I would be blushing right now, except that I don't blush. I do, however, love really nice people such as you. That's so lovely of you! I'm really glad you like this story, and I hope you'll be glad to hear I'm carrying on with this and hopefully doing a sequel, as long as everyone wants a sequel. Would you want to read a sequel? And thank you again!

**Amelia –** Thank you! Spencer and Toby will be coming back soon, and personally, I can't wait for that chapter!

**Kayson3259 –** I can't wait for Spoby to come back either! I'm trying to think of how they'll come back at the moment. One of my ideas is them just throwing open the door and being like 'We're back, bitches! You can continue with your lives now!' Obviously I don't think I'll be doing that, but I think that'd be quite funny :) I can't wait to bring in the whole Hastings grandparents/Jenna's family/Melissa and Taylor part. Allie's just gonna be like 'woah, I have LOADS of family that I didn't know I had!' It's going to be amazing writing it!

**Luuw5683 –** Thank you! That actually means a lot to me. I've read fanfics that I think should be books (pop-pop-bananas' 'Rewind' series is an example) but I never thought my stories would be that good. Thank you! I'll update as soon as I can, I promise :)

**Apparently I Lost You -** Thank you! That actually made me feel so good about my writing! I have to admit, I freaked out a tiny bit when I saw you'd put my name in that review, but once I realised there's no reason you shouldn't know it, since it's on my profile, I relaxed. But please don't read this and think that you shouldn't use it, because you totally can, and it's fine and everything. You guys are so nice about my stories, and you're kinda like my friends even though I've never met you, so of course you can use it if you want to! :)

**Spobyforever1907 -** Thankyou for being so understanding! I'll try and keep my updates frequent, because I actually do love writing this story, and the amount of people who appreciate this story and read and review and stuff makes me really happy, so yeah. Thanks!


	15. The Motel Room

**A/N – Right. So I'm heading off to France for 2 weeks with my family tomorrow, and I wanted to update before I leave. While I'm there, I'll be planning the next chapter, and, provided I get round about 95 reviews when I get back, I'll update the day after I get back. Deal? I'd love to get to 100, that'd be brilliant! *hint hint***

**And because I feel this needs to be said, I'm going to say it, regardless. You should all read 'Begin Again', by Kayson3259. I think most of you already are, since it's way better and way more popular than this, but just of those who aren't, it's a Spoby fic, AU, but amazing! And I'm a huge fan of her stories, so I really do recommend you check my favourite author's list after reading this chappie, and click on her name. I know she'd appreciate it!**

**One more thing. Did anyone get the hint about Cassidy and her family? If you've read Chapter 2 thoroughly, then you should know! **

**Disclaimer – I own nothing but the purple nightgown. And I suppose Allie, Maya, Catrin, Caspian, Cassidy and Maria.**

* * *

**Totaldramfan123 –** Okay! I recently discovered fanfiction on my phone, and now my phone is almost permanently glued to my pocket. I used to leave at home all the time, and I hardly ever used it exept to listen to music, but now it's like a minor miracle, considering my reduced laptop time. If it wasn't for fanfiction o my phone, I probably would be six feet under by now ;)Have a good holiday in the Bahamas! I've never been, but I've heard it's lovely there. The blood test was horrible, but it's over with now, and that's fine. My plate seems to be emptying slowly but surely, which is a good sign! Thank you! By the way, I loved this newest chapter of 'Just a Regular Year? Yeah, Right', it's such a good story! Please keep writing!

**Guest –** Thank you! I keep you on edge... that's interesting to know. Soryy I just loved finding out why people love this story so much. Thanks! I'll update soon, I promise!

**Spobyistruelove –** Thank you! She will, I promise, and you'll be seeing Spoby next chapter! I'll update soon after my holiday, depending on how nice everyone is! Not that anyone's ever hated on this fic, you are all too amazing and kind-hearted, and I couldn't ask for better people to read and review my story :D

**ShadowsOnTheMoon –** Thank you! It's okay, I completely forgive you, since you are completwly amazing and supportive of this fic! Don't feel you have to, although I'm not complaining! Thanks!

**Onedirection2013 –** Thanks! I can't wait to watch it! I haven't, actually. I know, it's shocking! I really need to catch up on everything. I bet it's really good, and I can't wait to see it, I've heard it's really good!

* * *

Running down the street, Allie didn't stop to check if Emily was following her. Even if she was, she knew she could outrun her. She suspected that was the athlete in her. Not that Emily wasn't extremely athletic as well, but she knew that running after her wouldn't be a smart move when she was it this mood. Allie needed time to chill and think things through.

Ducking into an abandoned shed in someone's front garden, Allie hid there until she caught sight of Emily and Paige's car drive past, and she scoffed angrily. Practically nothing would make Paige break routine, especially their swim session in the evening, which was almost the only time Emily and Paige spent time together during the week.

* * *

She snuck back home, breaking in using the spare key in the hanging basket on the porch, although Aria had once told her that technically, you couldn't break into your own home. She managed to slip inside just as a car sped by the house, and she quickly shut the door behind her.

She didn't know why she was so freaked out. After all, there wasn't likely to be anyone hiding out in the front yard at eight at night, was there? But sometimes she got freaked out at night, like someone was watching her every move, and i caused her to break out in goosebumps lmost every night, even when it wasn't cold.

"Mom?" came Maya's voice from upstairs, and Allie gave herself a silent facepalm. _Dang_. She'd forgotten about Maya, and, much as she loved her, she didn't really want to have to deal with her.

"No, Maya, it's me."

"Allie? Where have you been?" Maya appeared on the stairs, wearing blue pyjama bottoms and an old swimming tee. "Momma Emily's been going mad with worry!"

"About that..." Allie started. "I need to leave. Now. Oh, I'll come back," she said, seeing Maya's face change. "It's just that I've got a lot on my mind, and I need to get out and clear my head. I should be back tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay," Maya replied. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now," Allie dismissed. "Right now I need to pack, and get out of here before Emily and Paige get back. Can you help?"

"Sure," Maya said, giving a smile smile. "You'll tell me eventually, won't you?"

"Of course," Allie said, smiling. "You're my best friend. I would never hide anything from you."

* * *

A suitcase packed and ready to go-later, Allie gave Maya a hug, and promised to be back in the morning.

"Don't talk to strangers, or anyone who looks creepy," Maya told her.

"I won't," Allie laughed. "But could you do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"Don't tell Mommy Emily and Mommy Paige I came back. Don't tell them you saw me."

Maya looked doubtful for a moment, but then nodded. "Sure."

Allie gave Maya one last smile, and then headed out the door.

* * *

Allie carried the case down the porch steps, and then wheeled it down the street. It made far too much noise for her liking, the wheels clattering over the bumps in the sidewalk, and it was worse when she dragged it over the curb, but she had more important things to think about now.

She pulled her suitcase past Jason and Catrin's house, and it made her think of Catrin. She must apologize for her behaviour last time she was 'round when she next saw her. The next house along was just as big, with a gravel driveway and a barn. She saw a car in the driveway that looked a lot like Coach Hastings' car, although it was eight at night and the light was poor, so she couldn't be sure.

Luckily, the night was clear, so there was no chance of rain. Despite her anger, Allie grinned up at the starry sky and sighed. She'd always loved the stars. When she was little, she'd looked up at that sky out her window every night, and imagined that her parents were looking up at the same sky at the same moment. She'd always loved how independent the stars were, and yet patterns and pictures could be created from them, of monsters and brave Greek mythical heroes. Which brought her to her next concern: where was she going to stay?

Well, home was out. Uncle Jason's house was also out; if he found her on his doorstep, he'd take her in, sure, but he'd phone Emily to tell her. Allie wasn't usually so selfish, but right now, she kinda _wanted_ Emily to worry, she guessed as a sort of revenge for hiding the truth from her for so long. A truth she still didn't really know.

Sighing, she pulled out her phone, and searched up places to stay in Rosewood for a night or more. Scrolling through the results, she came across one that looked promising. The Rosewood Motor Court. She searched for it in Google maps, and, finding it wasn't too far away, headed there. That was the easier part done. Now, to sieve through her thoughts and try and sort out the lies from the truth.

* * *

Three quarters of an hour later, and Allie was exhausted. She'd checked in, and now she just wanted to crash. She'd save the thinking for tomorrow.

She stopped at a door with a number on it that looked like hers, but looking closer at the number, 214, she realised her room was the next one over. Struggling with her keys, she eventually got in, and dumped her bag on the floor with a thump.

She turned the light on. There was a double bed in the middle of the room, and a small en-suite bathroom next door. It was enough room for her purposes, and she flopped onto the bed with a tired moan.

Even though she felt like collapsing, she decided to have a shower. Hopefully it would wake her up a bit, and then she'd be able to put her night clothes on and unpack the few things she'd brought without doing it like an idiot. Sighing, her body not being pleased with the decision to get up from the bed, she dragged herself to the shower, and took her time rinsing herself and rubbing strawberry shower gel over her body. The shower luckily did its job, and Allie came out refreshed and more awake than she had been beforehand. This meant that while she was drying herself, her Hastings mind began to work, like gears in a clockwork toy.

She started out with what she knew. Jason, who she had been calling 'Uncle' ever since she could remember, actually was her uncle, as opposed to Aria and Hanna, who were simply Emily's friends, and kind of like adoptive aunts. Therefore, Catrin was her cousin, or maybe half-cousin was a more accurate description. But that was just as good as simply 'cousin', so she'd stick to calling Catrin her cousin.

Then the other questions came, the most important always coming first. Where were her parents? Emily had always told her they were out of satet for work, but now Allie was beginning to suspect it was more than that. Had they left because they could cope, much like Catrin's mom, and Emily was covering for them to make Allie feel better? Wherever they were, Allie hoped they were alive and well, not even wanting to think that the former wasn't true. Maybe they would come back, maybe they wouldn't. Allie had no idea what her parents were, or how they felt about seeing her.

Then there were the little things. Why didn't she and Maya ever attend elementary or middle school like normal kids? Why did Aunt Aria lock all her windows and the front door at night without fail, like she'd had it programmed into her for years? Why had no-one ever told her that Jason was her real uncle? It wasn't like it was a bad or shameful thing, and it really didn't have any reason to be hidden from her.

She sighed, and wrapped the towel around her, moving quietly into the bedroom, and picking up her purple nightgown from the bed. She slipped it over her head, and let it fall around her knees before dropping the towel, and folding it neatly on the bed.

**_Creak._**

Allie snapped her head around, wondering what the noise was. She knew it was ridiculous, but for a moment, it had sounded like there was someone in the room with her, right behind her.

**_Creak._**

Allie moved again, about to repeat her head movement, but she wasn't quick enough. A blinding pain hit her on the back of the head, and that was the last thing she remembered before the world went dark.

* * *

**Dun-Dun-DUN! I've left you on a cliffy for 2 weeks! I'm so evil ;) If this story was in parts, I suppose this would be the end of part one, but it's not, so it's not :) Anyway, who noticed that Allie stayed in the same motel room as her parents the night before their first kiss? I absolutely _love_ that episode!**


	16. A Morning of Phone Calls

**A/N – Hey everybody, I'm back! I actually had a lovely holiday to France, for those who asked, thank you! We stayed near this French town called St Jean de Monts, and it was fun :) There were water slides and stuff, and I actually got a tan for once, so it was pretty awesome!**

**I HAVE A NEW STORY! It' called 'Be Careful What You Wish For', and it focuses on Hanna, so please check it out!**

**I won't spoil anything in case you haven't watched it yet, but I absolutely loved the 4A finale! I watched it with Milka and Oreo chocolate, and my eight-year-old sister, who I know is too young for it, but I was lonely, and I don't like watching finales alone :(**

* * *

It was the morning after Allie had left, and there was still no sign of her getting back. Emily woke up to a ringing phone and an empty house, since Paige had gone to a gala in Maine, and Maya was out for her morning run. She sighed and got up, reaching the phone just as it was about to stop ringing.

"Hello?" she asked into the receiver, grateful that her voice wasn't an early-morning rasp.

"Mrs Cavanaugh?" Asked a female voice on the other end, and Emily was instantly alert.

"No, she's...this isn't her."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to disturb you. Do you perhaps knowhow we could contact her or Mr Cavanaugh?"

Emily was confused. "Excuse me, but why do you want to know?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I really need to speak to Mr and Mrs Cavanaugh. We have their daughter here-"

"Allie? Oh thank goodness!"

"-but we must speak to her parents as a matter of urgency."

"I'm afraid they're not here. They're doing business out of town," Emily lied smoothly. After years of being forced to by 'A', it was an art she'd perfected. "I'm Sp... Mrs Cavanaugh's best friend, and until she gets back, Allie's legal guardian."

"Okay, well, Mrs..."

"Fields. Emily Fields."

"Mrs Fields, we have a situation."

Emily was instantly worried. "What is it? Has something happened to her?"

"She checked into the Rosewood Motor Court last night at about 11pm. She was supposed to check out by 10am, but no one had seen her since she checked in, and we didn't hear her in her room, so we had to use the master key to get in."

"And?" Emily asked, afraid of the answer.

"She was lying unconscious on the floor, and tests say she was on the floor for about 10 hours before we found her. The back of her head was bloody: we think someone must have attacked her last night. I'm so sorry." The voice sounded genuinely sorry, but it wasn't enough to change Emily's mood.

She was hit with several feelings at once: anger, at whoever had done this to Allie. Sadness at what had happened, and what could still happen to her. A sinking feeling of letting Toby and Spencer down by letting this happen.

"Wh-Where is she?" Asked Emily, on the point of crying.

"We've called an ambulance, and it should be arriving any minute," replied the woman. "Would it be possible for you to meet the ambulance at the hospital?"

"Of course. If she wakes up, could you tell her that I'm coming, and that I'm bringing her aunts and uncle?"

"Yes, Mrs Fields. I'm so sorry that this happened."

The line went dead, and Emily finally allowed herself to cry. She waited until her tears had stopped falling, and then she picked up the phone and dialled a four-way call.

"Hello?" Aria's voice came from one end. "Emily?"

"Thanks for waking me up so early, Em!" Hanna said, pretending to be irritated.

"Emily? Why are you calling me? I'm beginning to feel like you guys are my only friends!" Jason added.

"Guys," Emily started, trying to sound as calm as she could. "I've got something to tell you."

"Emily," Aria sounded worried. "What's wrong?"

"It's Allie," Emily sobbed. "I got a phone call from the Rosewood Motor Court this morning. She was attacked in the night, and is being taken to hospital."

"Oh my God," Hanna said in a worried, very un-Hanna-like voice. "I'll be straight there."

"Who was it, Em?" Aria asked. "Do they know?"

"No," Emily replied.

"Isn't it pretty obvious who it was, though?" Hanna added angrily.

Aria gasped. "A? You think A is still out there? But that's why Toby and Spencer aren't here. A's supposed to be long gone."

"Well, apparently they didn't get the message," Hanna said. "That bitch. Spencer's been gone for fifteen years to tear them down once and for all, and they still find a way to survive."

"And now Allie's in the middle of this mess..."

"Oh God," Emily sobbed. "I've failed them, guys. I promised them I would look after Allie."

"And you've done a great job," Jason told her. "If A was out there, it would be inevitable that they'd find out about Allie sooner or later. That's just what A's like."

"It's going to be okay, and you shouldn't blame yourself," Aria added. "We'll meet you at the hospital in ten minutes. Don't panic: I'm sure Allie will be fine."

"Okay," Emily sniffed, trying to calm herself down. "Thank you. I'll see you soon."

"Wait!" came Hanna's voice. "Have you told...you are going to tell Spoby about this, right?"

"What kind of name is 'Spoby'?" Jason asked, trying to cheer Emily up a bit. "I think you and I need to have a chat about nicknames, Hanna."

"Yes, I'm going to call them now, but I have no idea what I'm going to tell them, or even how to talk to them, it's been so long."

"It'll be fine, Emily. You'll start talking, and it'll be like the last fifteen years didn't happen. And tell my sister to get herself and Toby back to Rosewood. I miss her, and Allie needs them both right now."

Emily smiled. "Thanks, Jason, I will. I'll see you guys in ten." She hung up the phone, feeling slightly better, and sighing, picked it back up a dialled a number that she still knew off by heart even after all these years.

* * *

**Next Chapter is Spoby-centred, I promise! Xx**

******Spobyistruelove –** Thanks! Don't worry, Allie'll be just fine. I wouldn't let anything really bad ever happen to her. Thank you! You don't know how much that means to me, since there's not many things that I'm especially good at. I'm usually an all-round average person. Hopefully this chapter did, but I have the next planned out on my phone, so I just need to write it up. It should be up in a few days-ish. I love 3x24! I literally jumped for joy when I saw Toby was still alive. And the Spoby sex scene just blew me away, it was so cute and perfect and stuff :D What did you think of the 4A finale? And the reveal at the end? Personally, I suspected it slightly as you saw them outside, watching the girls look at that poster, but it still shocked me. Let me know! And thank you so much!

**Onedirection2013 **– Thank you! I aim to please, so I'll try and update again before school starts next Thursday. By the way, when are you going to see the 1D movie? I know it came out today :) I don't know when I'll be free, but I'm hoping at the weekend I can see it. Thank you for reviewing!

**Totaldramfan123 –** I know right? I was watching a movie the other day, and the number 214 popped up, and I totally had a melt down about it. I'm really sorry, but I must've must have mixed you and dreamcatch3r up, and now I feel really awkward. I'm really sorry :( The Bahamas do sound lovely. I have some friends who went there over the summer, and they said it was amazing. I know! I used to not care much about my phone, but now it's my only internet access during the day, I keep it with me all the time. It's not like anyone ever really texts me or anything, I just have it for the internet :) Thank you! I did, it was fantastic! I hope yours was too!

**Aussiegal –** Thank you! And I'm sorry, I really am. That was kinda mean of me. I did see the latest episodes the night after I got home, and then I watched the finale on Wednesday. Talk about amazing! I loved the Spoby cowboy scenes, they were so cute! Until they started fighting :( Thank you! I'll make more of an effort to update from now on, I promise!

**Apparently I Lost You –** I'm sorry! I know it was mean to do that to you :( Don't worry though, She'll definitely recover, I can promise you that. I did go to France, and it was awesome, the weather there is so much nicer than England! Although, it sounds weird, but I did slightly miss rainy old England. I went to St Jean de Monts, which was lovely :) I can speak French, although not fluently! I'd love to be able to speak fluent French. I'm a bit jealous of you, since you can speak French fluently, and have really good English as well :( Anyway, your holiday sounds amazing. I haven't been to America since I was 4, but I loved it, and I'd love to go back someday. I hope it was awesome :)

**Kayson3259 –** Sorry! I know leaving it so long was mean, but I had no internet connection in France, and couldn't do much except plan and write more chapters on my blackberry's notepad. Thank you! Personally, I think your stories are way better, but thank you, and I'm actually so happy with 100. I got back from my holiday, and I was like, 'whoa, I got 98!', and then the next day I had 99, and I was like, 'come on, come on," and then I got 100! Sorry, for rambling :( Thank you so much though!

**Kayson3259 –** Of course you're not! You're lovely and amazing because you're always reviewing and writing fantastic stories and updating quickly and PMing me when I'm lonely, so thank you! I feel like I should be doing the whole caps lock thing with you mentioning me THREE TIMES IN 'BEGIN AGAIN'! I feel so special :) thanks! Not to rush you or anything, but when is 'Everything Has Changed' being posted? Because I totally can't wait, but whether it's being posted tomorrow or in ten months, I don't mind, because it's up to you, obviously. Although I hope it isn't in ten months... Anyway. 'Take a deep breath,' as Toby would say. Thank you! Although I hope bashing your head into the wall didn't hurt too much. I can't wait to write the whole Allie meets the amazing people she has for parents who are #TeamSpoby. LOVE those two :D But omigosh, even the name 'Team Mayallie' has me in hysterics. THANK YOU for coming up with that name, I absolutely love it! I'll put that in a future chapter, I think.

Personally, I feel exactly the same about your stories :) I know exactly what you mean. I was reading this fanfic called 'Before It All Began' the other day, and by the end, I was like, 'this is really good.' But then I could stop thinking about it, and I really wanted to read more. If you haven't read it, you totally should. It's Spoby (Like I'd read any other pairing. Except Jaria and Haleb and possibly Paily or Emaya). I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHEESECAKE! New York Vanilla is my favourite, although chocolate sounds AMAZING. I'm not kidding, I would probably inhale that stuff if I could. Well, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but anyway. Spoby is coming next chapter, so I hope that that exceeds your expectations :)

**Kayson3259 –** I'm in England right now (at least, I hope I am. Unless this is a dream and I'm actually in the middle of Russia or something :)), but I was in this town called St Jean de Monts, and it was really cute! We went on this little bike/car thing along the beach, and my sister made a new French friend who's now her penpal, so that was sweet. And there were water slides at the nearby pool, so my sisters and I used to race each other on them. It was awesome! Anyway, I'll try and update more, although I start school next Thursday, so I won't be able to update so much, especially since it's GCSE year for me :( which I guess puts me a year ahead of you. Still, it's nice finding people my age on fanfiction, it's kinda like having friends without having ever met them, you know? I only have like two friends at school who actually watch PLL, so it's nice to be surrounded by PLL lovers on here. Anyway, this is getting to be a really long reply, so I should probably hurry up and actually post this chapter. Thank you so much!

**Samsterhamster118 –** I know, but I'm pretty sure I put that Allie's room was the one next to room 214, which would have been her parents' old room. If I'm wrong, then I apologize though. My memory has so many holes in, and I don't always remember things very well, so if I wrote it wrong, then I'm sorry. Thank you for reviewing, though! :) And also, thank you for being my 100th reviewer!

**McCrazy for McDreamy –** Thank you! Sometimes it still boggles me that I've managed to write 15 chapters! I'll try and update more :) Thank you so much!

**Sunset13 –** Hey! Welcome to Fanfiction! I'm really happy you like this, and I promise to update more. I'm hoping by the end of the year to update about once a week at the least, but I'm rubbish at updating, so you may have to bear with me. Also, I'm so glad to find someone else who listens to Lucy Hale and Sasha Pieterse! They are really good, aren't they? They should work on albums while PLL is off-season. I still can't believe I have to survive on one new episode until January :( Especially since this time last year, I was catching up on all the episodes because I'd only just started watching it. Anyway, thank you for reviewing, and I hope you love fanfiction just as much as I do! :)


	17. Foreshadowing

**A/N – What you've all been waiting for! The Spoby Chapter! :D I hope it's as good as you wanted it to be!**

**ATTENTION ALL JARIA LOVERS! I have the first chapter of a new Jaria story up, as well as two chapters of my Hanna story, so please check it out!**

**I ALSO HAVE A POLL ON MY PROFILE! PLEASE VOTE, OR THERE'S NO GUARENTEE OF A SEQUEL!**

**This chapter starts the moment of the accident :)**

* * *

At the same moment, hundreds of miles away, the mocha-coloured eyes of Spencer Cavanaugh opened suddenly and she stared at the ceiling, which was painted a light, unattractive yellow-green colour.

"Toby," she hissed, but Toby just tightened his grip around her waist and relaxed again with a contented sigh.

Spencer sighed, taking in for a moment how sweet her husband was as he slept, and then she tried again. "Toby!"

"What is it, Spence?" Toby asked sleepily.

"Something's wrong. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it."

"Shh Spencer," Toby consoled her; more awake now, and cuddled her into his side. "It's okay. Whatever it is, it can be fixed, I promise."

"But Toby, what if something happened to Emily, Hanna or Aria. Or Allie? Oh God, what if something happened to Allie?"

"Breathe, Spencer," Toby said, wrapping his arms around her again. "Let's go back to sleep,"

Spencer's mind was still wild with possible theories, but she did as she was told and lay back down in bed as sleep consumed her once more.

* * *

"Are you okay now, Spence? You sounded pretty worried last night," Toby asked her, passing her a mug of hot, strong black coffee the next morning.

"I don't know. It was so real; this feeling just swept over me, and I knew something was wrong. I really do think we should check up on everyone."

"Sure," Toby replied, picking up her phone from the counter, and scrolling through her messages. "Last message you received was from Holden on Wednesday, telling you that him and Mona have got a new lead two towns over, so they've gone to check it out. And my last message was..." Toby trailed off, pulling his cell out of his pocket, "...a junk message about freebies online."

"Any recent calls?"

"Nope. Listen Spence, we told Emily to call or text in an emergency, so let's just assume for now that no news is good news."

Spencer relaxed, and took a small sip of coffee. "Okay, fine. Listen, Toby, would you mind coming with me to buy some food? We ran out of bread at the last motel, and we need to stock up on coffee and milk."

Toby laughed. "Come on then," he said, still smiling. "I'll just get my jacket while you finish your coffee, and then we'll set off."

Five minutes later they were off, and the door slammed behind them, leaving Spencer's phone on the counter and Toby's in his pocket, switched off, and with a dying battery. No one could have reached them even if they'd wanted to, and unfortunately at that point, someone did want to.

* * *

Ring-ring! Ring-ring!

"Come on, pick up!" Hissed Emily impatiently, but the phone just kept ringing. She tried hanging up and ringing again, but after a third try, it was obvious that either her best friends were out, or that they didn't want to talk to her. She hope it was the former, and decided to leave them a message, even though she would've preferred to talk to them i person. So she left a quick message for their voicemail, and went to run a bath. Maybe it would help her relax before she had to tell Paige and Maya.

* * *

Two hours later, Spencer and Toby unlocked the door, Toby laughing and Spencer trying not to, and both of them carrying plastic shopping bags from Wal-Mart.

"I can't believe you wouldn't let me buy that coffee machine!" Spencer exclaimed. "It was reduced by 50%!"

Toby laughed. "You know we'd only have to keep unplugging every time we moved, and it would be one more thing to carry."

"I wish we didn't have to move around so much," Spencer sighed, reaching for her phone. She pressed a button to wake it up, and gasped when she checked her menu.

"Toby!"

"What?"

Her breathing quickened. "I have three missed calls and one new message."

Toby looked puzzled. "Who from?" He asked, coming over.

She gulped. "Emily," she replied.

"Play it," Toby encouraged her, coming to stand behind her to hear the message better. Spencer clicked onto the inbox, and played the message.

Immediately, Emily voice, which hadn't changed at all, sounded, as though she were in the room with them. Her voice sounded upset and panicky. "Hey Spencer, Toby. You said to phone you in an emergency, and I think this counts as one. I'd rather talk to you in person, but I think you must be out, so I'm leaving this instead. Please ring me back if you can, we really need to talk. I think you should come back to Rosewood, at least for the next month or two. We need you right now, all of us, but particularly Allie, and I don't want you to stay away any more. We need your help, and we can't wait to see you. Everyone's...nearly everyone is fine, but we need you here. And I'm so sorry." Emily broke into sobs, and a long beep signalled the end of the message.

Spencer looked up at Toby, who had gone pale. Not ghost-pale, but definitely paler than his normal skin tone, and he looked about ready to cry. Spencer couldn't believe it either. Her hand felt numb as she scrolled down her contacts list, found Emily's name and number still listed, and dialled it, Emily's message still replaying over and over in her mind.

"Emily?" She asked when the call was accepted. "It's Spencer. What has happened to my daughter?"

* * *

**I've decided to take turns, so tomorrow's update will be my Haleb story, then the day after that I'll update this again :) Please read my other PLL fanfics, I'd be really grateful.**


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